Les Bleus get what they deserve...tough road ahead for qualifiers

No one should be surprised to see France being in the second pool for Russia 2018 World Cup qualifications. Anyone watching the last few months of this national side might even wonder why they were not dropped to the 3rd or 4th pool With home losses to Brazil and Belgium, the second one being an absolute fiasco and then ending the international season with a dreadful lose away to Albania, there is no surprise their ranking has dropped to 22nd in the FIFA rankings.

The pots:

Pot one: Germany, Belgium, Holland, Romania, England, Wales, Portugal, Spain, Croatia.
Pot two: Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Denmark, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Pot three: Poland, Ukraine, Scotland, Hungary, Sweden, Albania, Northern Ireland, Serbia, Greece.
Pot four: Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Estonia.
Pot five: Cyprus, Latvia, Armenia, Finland, Belarus, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova.
Pot six: Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Malta, San Marino, Andorra.

So Les Bleus could have Germany, Belgium, Holland, Portugal or Spain at the top of their group! They did qualify for the last World Cup with Spain also in their group. So it is by no means a death sentence.

The scariest draw for Les Bleus: Germany, Sweden, Turkey, Macedonia and Georgia.
The best draw for France: Wales, Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands, Cyprus and Andorra.

Regardless of the draw this qualification campaign will be a real test for this side. They are not looking very good a year away from hosting the Euros, but at least they will have home field and that by itself should at least get them out of the group and may past one knock out round. But this side is clearly still trying to define itself, who does it build around, where will the goals come from and who is the leader on the pitch? 2018 is a long ways away, but the reality is the preparation and groundwork starts now.