The France team that lifted the World Cup in Russia were a paradox.
Overly defensive, said the detractors – yet they set a record tally of 11 goals in the knockout phase, including four in the final. Unnecessarily cautious, carped the critics – yet here’s Benjamin Pavard, dashing up from right-back to score FIFA’s Goal of the Tournament in a nonsense 4-3 win over Argentina.
The idea that Les Bleus’ 2018 vintage lacked an identity is wrong – their identity was simply to win. Moulded in the likeness of serial winner Didier Deschamps, their manager, they were
