France/Denmark/South Africa/Saudi Arabia

SCHEDULE June 12th SAUDI ARABIA - DENMARK (LENS, 17:30) FRANCE - SOUNTH AFRICA (MARSEILLE, 21:00) June 18th SOUTH AFRICA - DENMARK (TOULOUSE, 17:30) FRANCE - SAUDI ARABIA (SAINT-DENIS, 21:00) June 24th FRANCE - DENMARK (LYON, 21:00) SOUTH ARABIA - SAUDI ARABIA (BORDEAUX, 16:00)

France aims to keep the championship at home Will victory in the group be a prelude to a World Cup championship for France? For France, which has lined up the world's top DFs and MFs, group leadership is all but assured. The only opponent that poses any threat is Denmark, which had its own consecutive undefeated streak of 30 stopped. Even Denmark is an opponent that France can battle with considerable security compared to countries such as Norway, Yugoslavia, and Croatia that have the potential to stir up the front lines of the championship battle. On top of that, France plays Denmark in its third match and can warm up against its earlier opponents South Africa and Saudi Arabia and raise the level of excitement as the World Cup home team. From the start, France will have its eyes on the championship tournament and can slowly round itself into optimum condition. France's greatest strength is the stability of the defense. There are many doubts about using Thuram as the right side when he has shown such solid defense as a CB at Palma. Nonetheless, the line which centers on Desailly and Blanc, having trouble getting back in shape, with Candela on the left has every country watering at the mouth. If this is the case, with the forwards, which had been a pending question, lacking finishing-off power, against the typical opponent, the defense can at least manage a scoreless draw. In the middle, if Zidane can appear at the head without an injury and Deschamps behind, France will have more than enough superior supporting material.

Deschamps, playing in front of a defensive line that is like an iron wall, will watch for danger and the attacks that start from there will create winning opportunities through Zidane. Djorkaeff, who is expected to be used as a slightly down forward will perform a similar role to Zidane and create aggressive finishes. Moreover, they will be actively involved in finishing off goals. At the forwards, where France like many other countries had many forwards but none who really stood out, Tonzege and Henri have suddenly developed and if they bring their Monaco condition to the national team, they will raise the team an entire notch. With this strong a lineup, even if the coach and goalkeeper are slightly unreliable, there is enough talent to cover for this. Since France is the host country, the tickets for its games are the most difficult to get your hands on, but with the power relationships among these four countries so clear, this is also the least interesting group for forecasting.

TEAM POTENTIAL
	Offense	Defense	Overall	Probability of winning through
FRANCE	B	A	A	99%
SOUTH AFRICA	D	D	D	35%
SAUDI ARABIA	E	C	D	10%
DENMARK	C	C	C	70%