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Defending champions France were dominant in qualifying,
winning all eight matches in a simple group. The
feat emulated their Euro '92 qualifying performance.
Michel Platini's side went on to face England in
that tournament, but both teams were dumped out
by Sweden and Denmark.
Nobody expects a repeat of that in Portugal, but
France also took a world class squad to the 2002
World Cup where they completely floundered without
the talismanic Zinedine Zidane, falling in the first
round without even scoring.
This disappointment should prevent any French overconfidence,
and is another source of motivation for a team with
plenty of other assets. Zidane is still magical
at his best, while serial award runner-up Thierry
Henry is one of the world's top forwards. The only
uncertainty concerns the defence, with age finally
catching up on Marcel Desailly and nobody firmly
established alongside him in the centre.
Prediction: A united and focused French
squad could go all the way.
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