The reigning world champions France arrived in Qatar on Wednesday in an effort to become the first side since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the Fifa World Cup.
Ten members of the team that won the championship in 2018 are back, including Hugo Lloris as captain, Kylian Mbappe, and Antoine Griezmann.
But the first-choice midfield duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante are absent for the defending champions in Fifa World Cup, who are paired with Australia, Denmark, and Tunisia.
The 2014 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema will play in his first World Cup match since 2014 after missing several Real Madrid games this season due to injuries.
Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic believes this World Cup is an opportunity to alter how people across the world view American soccer as the United States returns to the top table of football after an eight-year absence.
Even though he is only 24 years old, Pulisic has some experience in the US military and is a talismanic presence who always uplifts those around him when he wears the US shirt.
As the USA’s opening match against Wales next Monday approaches, he is loving the burden.
Pulisic said, “I don’t see it as a burden at all. “Playing in a World Cup and representing my country is the pinnacle of many people’s careers, and that’s what I’m here to do.
Pulisic concurred that the incident in Trinidad five years ago served as the impetus for the US national team’s transformation.
“The new individuals they brought in and the opportunity that so many new players received, changed a lot and the way the team was functioning that first year after not qualifying,” he remarked.