· World Cup Group E updates - live in Porto Allegre
· Make yourself look foolish/a genius with our predictor game
· Email Nick.Miller@theguardian.com or tweet @NickMiller797.20pm BST
*Interesting choice at the back by Didier Deschamps.* While hugely talented, Raphael Varane only made 12 starts for Real Madrid last season, while Mamadou Sakho was, shall we say, frequently quite iffy in a quite frequently iffy Liverpool defence. And it's not as if he didn't have other options, with both Laurent Koscielny and Eliaquim Mangala left scratching their botties on the bench. If one can really scratch one's botty while sitting on it.7.12pm BST
*So no Olly Giroud for France,* despite him bagging in their final friendly against Jamaica the other day, but this side looks much more balanced than that one, which had Karim Benzema sort of floating around the Arsenal man, rather than playing his usual centre-forward role.7.06pm BST
Lloris, Debuchy, Varane, Sakho, Evra, Pogba, Cabaye, Matuidi, Griezmann, Benzema, Valbuena.
7.03pm BST
*Stat, from the old FIFA website:*
*France* need *four *more goals to become the fifth team in World Cup history (after Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina) to reach the milestone of 100 goals.
6.58pm BST
*Already fierce competition in the 'wackiest fan' stakes...*6.45pm BST
*No team news through just yet,* but there was a bit of a scare for Honduras the other day, with chum of the headline writers Carlos Costly suffering some minor knack in training. Word is he'll probably be OK, mind.6.30pm BST
*France, France, Francey France.* A team who historically (well, in the last decade or so), have been stuffed full of talent, but also with the vaguely inevitable sense that they were going to do something pretty stupid, pretty soon. This was of course most obviously and spectacularly evident in 2010, when the team combusted in the most entertaining manner, featuring fights and arguments and all sorts of other shenanigans. Luckily for them, but perhaps not for the rest of us who enjoy a good intra-squad stramash, things appear a little calmer this time, even to the point where the absence of Franck Ribery looks like it will be greeted with a fairly nonchalant shrug, rather than any sort of hand-wring.
*Of course, there is some debate about whether Ribery not being around will actually matter that much*, since that back problem probably would have prevented him playing to his capibilities anyway, a back problem that had kicked his form in the swingers over the second half of the season. And since they have the likes of Antoine Griezemann and mini little micro Mathieu Valbuena to provide some spark, plus perhaps the best young midfielder in the world in Paul Pogba, it's perhaps not the end of the world.
We had 16 matches in the qualifying stage and I believe that we didnt have any of our players sent off with a red card so I think that shows we play football, follow the rules and play as we should.
6.30pm BST
Nick will be here soon, but until then read Amy Lawrence on how Didier Deschamps has made the France camp a much happier and more relaxed place to be:
If anyone could invigorate a bunch that had the most excruciating spirit imaginable at the last World Cup (arguably any World Cup), Deschamps was an obvious candidate. Since picking up the baton as Frances manager two years ago, it is no coincidence that he has instigated a radical mood change. His old friend and team-mate Laurent Blanc began mending a squad that was broken in the immediate aftermath of the player revolt in South Africa. Deschamps took over and added a bolder, more vigorous touch to the reconstruction.
Now there is a renewed sense of pride and purpose. As France set off for Brazil, Laurent Koscielny described the ambience as a family. That was not a word that was in any way applicable at Frances last World Cup. What passed for French kinship in 2010 erupted into a bitter and explosive divorce.
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.
· Make yourself look foolish/a genius with our predictor game
· Email Nick.Miller@theguardian.com or tweet @NickMiller797.20pm BST
*Interesting choice at the back by Didier Deschamps.* While hugely talented, Raphael Varane only made 12 starts for Real Madrid last season, while Mamadou Sakho was, shall we say, frequently quite iffy in a quite frequently iffy Liverpool defence. And it's not as if he didn't have other options, with both Laurent Koscielny and Eliaquim Mangala left scratching their botties on the bench. If one can really scratch one's botty while sitting on it.7.12pm BST
*So no Olly Giroud for France,* despite him bagging in their final friendly against Jamaica the other day, but this side looks much more balanced than that one, which had Karim Benzema sort of floating around the Arsenal man, rather than playing his usual centre-forward role.7.06pm BST
Lloris, Debuchy, Varane, Sakho, Evra, Pogba, Cabaye, Matuidi, Griezmann, Benzema, Valbuena.
7.03pm BST
*Stat, from the old FIFA website:*
*France* need *four *more goals to become the fifth team in World Cup history (after Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina) to reach the milestone of 100 goals.
6.58pm BST
*Already fierce competition in the 'wackiest fan' stakes...*6.45pm BST
*No team news through just yet,* but there was a bit of a scare for Honduras the other day, with chum of the headline writers Carlos Costly suffering some minor knack in training. Word is he'll probably be OK, mind.6.30pm BST
*France, France, Francey France.* A team who historically (well, in the last decade or so), have been stuffed full of talent, but also with the vaguely inevitable sense that they were going to do something pretty stupid, pretty soon. This was of course most obviously and spectacularly evident in 2010, when the team combusted in the most entertaining manner, featuring fights and arguments and all sorts of other shenanigans. Luckily for them, but perhaps not for the rest of us who enjoy a good intra-squad stramash, things appear a little calmer this time, even to the point where the absence of Franck Ribery looks like it will be greeted with a fairly nonchalant shrug, rather than any sort of hand-wring.
*Of course, there is some debate about whether Ribery not being around will actually matter that much*, since that back problem probably would have prevented him playing to his capibilities anyway, a back problem that had kicked his form in the swingers over the second half of the season. And since they have the likes of Antoine Griezemann and mini little micro Mathieu Valbuena to provide some spark, plus perhaps the best young midfielder in the world in Paul Pogba, it's perhaps not the end of the world.
We had 16 matches in the qualifying stage and I believe that we didnt have any of our players sent off with a red card so I think that shows we play football, follow the rules and play as we should.
6.30pm BST
Nick will be here soon, but until then read Amy Lawrence on how Didier Deschamps has made the France camp a much happier and more relaxed place to be:
If anyone could invigorate a bunch that had the most excruciating spirit imaginable at the last World Cup (arguably any World Cup), Deschamps was an obvious candidate. Since picking up the baton as Frances manager two years ago, it is no coincidence that he has instigated a radical mood change. His old friend and team-mate Laurent Blanc began mending a squad that was broken in the immediate aftermath of the player revolt in South Africa. Deschamps took over and added a bolder, more vigorous touch to the reconstruction.
Now there is a renewed sense of pride and purpose. As France set off for Brazil, Laurent Koscielny described the ambience as a family. That was not a word that was in any way applicable at Frances last World Cup. What passed for French kinship in 2010 erupted into a bitter and explosive divorce.
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.