ALLEZ LES BLEUS

Topping their group and pushing through teams like Poland, England, and the underdog's Morocco, the two-time world cup champions ripped through all other teams and played all seven games once again. The seemingly unstoppable team was only put to a stop by perhaps the only team that could outshine them in this world cup, led by Messi himself. But how have they done this and what makes their team so special?

A while ago this image went viral, which displays a picture of the French national team’s starting eleven where only one out of the eleven players is of French origin. Four of them are of African origin and the rest to European descent.

The story goes a while back to the end of WW2 when France was completely destroyed leading to them importing labor from North Africa and Eastern Europe to rebuild their country. Later on in the 1960s and early 70s France’s economy grew rapidly, resulting in a huge labor shortage. This time labor was imported from West Africa and the Arab World. Many immigrants settled outside large cities such as Paris, Marseille, and Lyon.

All the while France was experiencing a sporting crisis where they didn’t qualify for three world cups during the period from 1960 and 1974. In response, FFF (France’s Football federation) introduced a national training center in Vichy, The Institut National du Football de Vichy, and worked with professional football clubs all over the country to establish academies for the youth. Giving opportunities for immigrants all over the country a chance to show off their talent. In the 1990s this footballing system became one of the best in the world producing world-renowned players such as Emmanuel Petit, Eric Cantina, and Zinedine Zidane, leading France to their first world cup win in 1998. The system continues to supply France with top-class football players making France a formidable team to play against.