Another question is will they go if they do qualify. They're pretty pissed about the Russians shooting down that jet liner full of Dutch citizens over Ukraine.
What's the point of playing the qualifiers if you don't intend to go to the tournament in the first place??
I wouldn't use the word laughing when the subject includes 200+ people who died when a commercial airline was shot down, but, yeah.
I used the word "laugh" because that is how they roll in Putin's Russia. You think the old KGB agent cares about the people on that airliner? It is disgraceful he was allowed to host the World Cup in the first place.
There have been a lot of World Cup Stars who have not lifted the World Cup trophy. But France does have a good young nucleus and depth so they will be contenders.
Difference is that Mbappe will have the players quality behind him to take him to the top of the world!
Here's my big issue with all the France hype: Amount of talent doesn't win world cups. Yes. France is loaded with tons of talent. But that creates it's own issues. It's not as easy as just putting the best player at each position. It's about finding a system, style and cohesiveness with 11 players. If you were to tell someone Brazil has won 8 WCQ in a row and ask them to give you their starters very few people would guess David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Oscar, Casemiro, Alex Sandro would all be missing from the starting 11 and guys like Miranda, Marquinhos, Paulinho and Renato Augusto would be starting... People would laugh their ass off at you. I definitely don't think Paulinho and Renato Augusto are the best they have, but they fit the system . That's what France has to do quickly is find the right 11. Pair the right guy with Pogba. Pair the right forwards together. It's not as simple as just having the most talent. Brazil is on this run wothout Gabriel Jesus, Oscar, and arguably a top 5 FB in the world in Alex Sandro. Also have a guy in Fabinho who hasn't even been called up. The position Brazil right now lacks is an out and out CAM to link it all up....watch out for a guy named Anderson Talisca who is killing it for Beskitas....15 goals and 9 assists....
The last time france had such generation they won one world cup one euro and two confederations cups. They played two world cup finals in 8 years. This last decade they had very good players and they kinda underachieved but not as good as what is coming now. Mbappe is the next number one in the world and he is french. It's not Pogba or Griezmann that will lead french squad in the coming years they will be there for sure but it's the likes of mbappe lemar mendy that will take this team to a higher level they did not have before.
I don't know if France has good on the field leadership as they did with guys like Deschamps, Zidane ,Desailly. Those players rallied guys together emotionally had the intestinal fortitude and tough mentality to say we are not going to lose. As we saw in France last Summer in contrast, there really isn't that leader on the field who takes over and commands. We shall see if someone emerges down the line but until then I think they may just fall short of the late 90's early 2000's greatness.
France has talent, no question - but so have many countries. I don't think France is already able to put their hands on silverware during the next 6 to 8 years.
Problem is that you and many people bring too much importance on recent past instead of realizing what is happening now. I live in France. I'm not a french fan. My teams are Croatia and Serbia. But The french squad coming will be 100 times stronger than what you saw in 2014 and 2016. When some players are maturing there are incredible players coming and about to make the difference. Griezmann Pogba were and are good...but Mbappe will be a great. Sidibe and Mendy are much much much more stronger than sagna and evra. Lemar will be a superstar. You don't reach champions league semi finals at such a young age by coincidence.
And as I said there are many stars who have not won the World Cup. They need a leader to emerge. It can happen, but until then I will be be a bit skeptical. Especially in 2018.
One of your recurrent problems, is that you over rate the Uefa champions league too much. Playing at top level at club level, doesn't mean or imply that at national team level, players will play likewise. There are lots of players that can be considered almost as "gods" at club level, but when they must do the same thing at national level, they simply "flop", at it or simply become average. This goes both ways, as there are also some other players which at club level, go almost unnoticed, but when they play at national team level, they do wonders. And how will they afterwards do for the next WC (Russia 2018), their background at club level becomes almost completely inconsequential. Where the only thing that really counts is how they do at national team level.
The last big european nations that came with talents in every fields won it. Italia in 06, Spain in 10, Germany in 14. France is on its way just as they were. Maybe not in 2018 but by 2026 they will do big.
They could be on their way but they could end up trophyless. I don't think they will do it in Russia. Qatar is going to be a crapshoot in that unpredictable calamity of a tournament in November/December. 2026 is probably going to be in North America which is also going to be unpredictable for Euro teams. We shall see.
the reason why they won it, is that most of their players actually play in Europe and therefore lots of them also play at the champions league. But there are many other players from other teams which also are from Europe, that didn't win it and there is plenty of them that actually did an outstanding ridicule during the WC, given their background. Classics are the examples of CR7 and Messi, that between them both, have won almost everything at club level, but once playing for their respectful national teams, all that silverware means peanuts. One thing doesn't imply the other...
I don't take one fact in count but few. France was already a 1/4 finalist in the last world cup and finalist from last euro with many young players and few that are about to be replaced by better. These players that were there already mature and gain experience. And there are others generations of young players winning that arrive, that already won at u20 at u19 level and that now shine at the top club competition. Soon or later it will pay.
Messi and Cr7 never had behind them what Mbappe will have behind him in the coming years. Top players from goal keeper to strikers.
2010 and 2014 were in south africa and brazil and still the best euro teams won it. It s not possible now to win a world cup with one or two players above all and weaknesses there or there. You need a team strong everywhere. And France will have it.
If all that were so, by current times we would already have at least 3 african teams among the WC champions, as in the last 20 years, their teams have achieved lots of success at youth level. But as of today, none of them have won anything yet, and what's worse, they haven't been capable of producing any team at national level with levels to consider them as being at least candidate to win it all. And many of their players have also excelled at the Uefa Champions league (keep that in mind). At most with that background you seem to give too much importance to, all you got is potential and nothing else. And France, the same as Croatia, the same as Portugal, the same as Belgium, the same as Nigeria, the same as Senegal, all have lots of talent within themselves and potential to be great, but to say that they all excell over everybody else, is a huge distance, that also may never happen.