Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy has barely returned to full fitness after a difficult first season in the Premier League but is very confident that he can lift the World Cup trophy with the French national team this summer. The last time that France won the World Cup was back in 1998, when they hosted the tournament. Mendy only managed to make seven appearances in all competitions for Manchester City last season after having ruptured a ligament inside his right knee during a match against Crystal Palace in September.
"The goal is victory. The French team must win this cup," Mendy said in an interview with French television. "With the team we have, there is no reason not to go all the way." His inclusion in the World Cup squad by head coach Didier Deschamps had surprised a few people in France, given that he only returned to first-team action in April. "People can ask questions. I respect that, but I had to make sacrifices," Mendy added. "I stayed serious and did some work. I'll be ready for the World Cup. Everything has been set up for my return. It's going to be OK."
Fellow left-backs Layvin Kurzawa from Paris Saint-Germain and Lucas Digne from Barcelona were left out of the World Cup squad by Deschamps, along with Manchester City central defender Aymeric Laporte. Atletico Madrid striker Kevin Gameiro was also left out of the 23-man squad by head coach Deschamps, while Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette only managed to make the stand-by list. However, they still have enormous quality in the squad, with Antoine Griezmann leading the attack alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, and Ousmane Dembele. France will face Australia, Peru and Denmark in Group C.
France are 13/2 at Bet365 to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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Comments (1)
sharpe
05/23/18, 11:05:42 AM
Yeah of course the French are one of the favourites, but there's also a few other teams that could tell the same. Certainly not winning the home Euro a couple...
Yeah of course the French are one of the favourites, but there's also a few other teams that could tell the same. Certainly not winning the home Euro a couple of years back not makes us believers about France but who knows, this time maybe the expectations wont be so huge which would allow the team being more confident but that's just a guess.
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