Top 5 contenders for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

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The 2018 Fifa World Cup on display

#1 France

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Sweden v France - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier
Sweden v France - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier

Let's face it - the French have one heck of a team. Much like Spain at the start of this decade, France have been developing several talented players every year, and right now, they are arguably the best national team in the world.

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Three of the four most expensive players of all time are French - Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, and if clubs like Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are willing to pay in excess of 100 million for them, then that's saying something.

French players form the core of several of Europe's biggest clubs. They have some of the best young players in the world who have burst on to the scene in last couple of years, taking the football world by storm.

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With Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Alexandre Lacazette and Olivier Giroud up front, they have an embarrassment of riches to choose from, and that's not even counting Karim Benzema.

Dimitri Payet, Ousmane Dembele, Thomas Lemar, Kingsley Coman and Florian Thauvin provide attacking options in midfield.

The Les Bleus have two of the best central midfielders in the world right now in Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, with Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi and Corentin Tolisso for backup.

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Laurent Koscielny, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Djibril Sidibe, Lucas Digne and Kurt Zouma will provide a solid defensive wall in front of captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

France suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the finals of the 2016 Euros when they conceded a last-minute winner in extra time to Portugal, but since then, they have only improved.

Their road to the World Cup has been a bit bumpy, having suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Sweden back in June, but they still sit on top of Group A, above the Swedish and the Dutch.

With one of the youngest national teams in the world right now, lack of experience might be a problem, but with the kind of talent that they have all over the pitch, they are definitely the clear favourites right now.

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Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh
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