EURO 2016 TEAM PREVIEW: GROUP A - FRANCE

Tip: Winners

Cult hero: It seems like Patrice Evra has been around since God was a boy. The French full-back made over 250 appearances for Manchester United, whose fans hold him dear, while he has turned back the clock for Juventus these past two seasons. No stranger to controversy too as Luis Suarez can attest to.

Star player: The home nation have a wealth of talent to call upon, nevertheless Paul Pogba is the man who many believe will be pivotal to them repeating the trophy lifting of 1998 and 1984. One of the rare players to leave Fergie red faced with embarrassment rather than rage or his favourite vino, the former United youth player has bossed Serie A for Juventus ahead of a possible summer transfer.

Player to watch: This one’s a toss up between Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman and happy Hammer Dimitri Payet with both set to play important roles. It is Payet, though, who could give Didier Deschamps’ outfit that little something extra when the knockout stage gets underway, his free-kick mastery and canny vision providing the X Factor that is harder to defend against than Coman’s raw pace.

How they qualified: They didn’t! There’s nothing quite like a shedload of friendlies to depress the hell out of your fans or raise expectations to unrealistic and often ludicrous levels. France managed eight wins and brought through some promising young players, so it verges on the latter this time.

Line-up prediction: Lloris, Sagna, Rami, Koscielny, Evra, Pogba, Sissoko, Matuidi, Payet, Griezmann, Giroud