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On its own patch, with its own supporters and with the best midfield and defense in the competition, world champion France was able hide the one deficiency in their make-up -- the lack of a recognized striker. No country has won the World Cup and European Championship in succession and expectations in France, while bullish, are also realistic. Little may have changed as far as the French lineup is concerned, with all but a couple of positions still filled by those who brought home the World Cup yet, paradoxically, this has been France's biggest headache. A team whose average age is now 29 has been plunged into the group of death -- with Holland, the Czech Republic and Denmark -- and every match will provide an uncomfortable challenge as they attempt to assert their status against opponents who will strain every sinew to have the prized scalp of the world champions. Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, having once performed the national manager's role himself, can see France getting to the semifinals but no further. "It's a tough group but I take France and Holland to go through," he said. "The Czechs will be missing Patrik Berger for the first two games. I see no reason why France could not get to the last four as they did at Euro 1996." Houllier's optimism about France is not shared by too many other observers, many of whom point out that Roger Lemerre's motivational skills leave a lot to be desired. France only just sneaked into the finals, and Lemerre has been heavily criticized for being unwilling to tinker with the World Cup team that still relies heavily on Zinedine Zidane. Certainly, Lemerre has some tough decisions to make, especially in attack. On paper, he has a never-ending list of forwards to choose from. Indeed, no other major footballing power in Europe can boast so many forward players who perform consistently at club level yet somehow become goal shy in a national shirt. It didn't matter at France 98 but could in Holland and Belgium. Houllier favors Monaco's David Trezeguet as the answer to France's problems, while former French marksman Jean-Pierre Papin would love to see Nicolas Anelka get the nod. "Some people don't believe in him but I do," said Papin. "For me, he's the next great French striker." Papin isn't fazed by France's lackluster performances since winning the World Cup, stressing the difficulty of remaining motivated. For his part, Lemerre has a point to prove after stepping up to take on the top job, not altogether comfortably, after being Aime Jacquet's right-hand man. "It's a tough group with four previous European champions," said Lemerre. "Obviously our last game against Holland will be crucial but we are very keen to prove that winning the world cup was no fluke." CNNSI.com's Gabriele Marcotti: France could be the first big name to go out in the first round. Lemerre has gotten things under control after his post-World Cup hangover, but several key players (Didier Deschamps, Emanuel Petit, Laurent Blanc) are coming off shaky seasons. Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Nicolas Anelka can be electrifying, but they can also be as limp as year-old lettuce. On paper, it's hard to bet against this bunch, but something isn't quite right.
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France
