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Predicting the XI: How France should line up at Euro 2016

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With Euro 2016 fast approaching, theScore is taking a fine-tooth comb to a handful of marquee squads, offering our humble opinion on who should make up the starting XI for Germany, France, Spain, England, Belgium, and Italy - the six favourites to hoist the trophy this summer. Who starts, who sits, who gets left home, and, most importantly, why.

Here we examine the options at the disposal of France boss Didier Deschamps.

theScore's starting XI

With obscene depth at the midfield and attacking positions, Deschamps faces several difficult decisions ahead of Euro 2016 and will have to leave several stars at home while Les Bleus chase their third continental crown.

Hugo Lloris

France's first-choice 'keeper since the 2010 World Cup, Tottenham's Hugo Lloris is once again the clear favourite ahead of this summer's tournament. Both deceptively angular and daringly spry, the 72-time capped Nice academy product has worn the captain's armband since a 2-1 friendly victory over England in November 2010.

As Lloris goes, so does Deschamps' squad.

Patrice Evra

If a Les Bleus supporter was to nitpick the depth of a setup that boasts both a star-studded senior team and an under-21 side littered with future genius, the full-back positions would be the sole point of concern.

At 34, Patrice Evra has lost much of the marauding pace that saw the Senegalese-born left-back win five top-flight titles and the Champions League at Manchester United, but he's still a contributing factor at Juventus. With 68 caps, Evra has seen both the demise and rise of the French team, including his dismissal from the 2010 World Cup side for insubordination.

Laurent Koscielny

Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny combines prowess in the air with poise on the ball. A leader for both club and country, he's a lock to start the three group-stage matches after platooning with Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho at the last World Cup.

Surprisingly quick and a standout on-the-ball defender in the traditional sense, Koscielny has has emerged from relatively modest footballing roots to a deserved spot among the pantheon of the continent's best centre-halves.

Raphael Varane

With Koscielny, Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane cements Europe's best ball-playing pairing. The 22-year-old's already been capped 27 times, displaying all the assets that should one day make the Lille-born defender the world's best.

As adept in the air as his partner, Varane's blend of technical and tactical skills should make the duo - and Lloris - as impenetrable a defensive core as any in the tournament.

Bacary Sagna

Like Evra, Manchester City right-back Bacary Sagna's once-notable pace and physical dominance isn't what it was at his peak. That said, his return to first-team football after a season languishing on Manuel Pellegrini's bench has been one of City's bright spots this season, solidifying the Auxerre youth product as Deschamps' first choice on the right.

The former Arsenal star missed the last Euros with a broken leg, but this summer he and Evra should form as versatile a full-back pairing as can be found, excelling in the air and on the ball.

Morgan Schneiderlin

A high-profile summer move to Manchester United hasn't produced the results expected (no thanks to Louis van Gaal's sometimes bizarre squad selections), but Morgan Schneiderlin is still one of the first names on Deschamps' team sheet.

Slotted in front of Koscielny and Varane, the 26-year-old is one of many defensive-minded midfielders in the French ranks. With a penchant for timely tackles and stellar positional awareness, Schneiderlin will allow fellow middle-of-the-park man Blaise Matuidi to drift forward when needed without the team losing its shape.

Blaise Matuidi

One of Europe's most underrated talents, Matuidi is a midfield lynchpin for both club and country. Often overlooked when the spotlight's drawn to the star power of his Paris Saint-Germain teammates, the 28-year-old is football's metronome, dictating the pace and cadence of a match with relative ease.

Perhaps the squad's most influential player, the 42-time capped Creteil product matches incisive passing with robust, sturdy tackles. Like a spoiled child with the newest toys, Deschamps is blessed with more depth in the central midfield positions than any side in Europe, and Matuidi is the glue that holds it all together.

Paul Pogba

Where Schneiderlin and Matuidi provide the stability, Juventus midfield maestro Paul Pogba provides the vigour.

One of Europe's most coveted young talents, the 23-year-old Manchester United outcast has emerged as the continent's most explosive player. Nicknamed "Il Polpo Paul" (Paul the Octopus) by his Italian fans, Pogba's lanky limbs and frenzied pace mimic clumsy tentacles - until the moment they don't, with the flamboyantly coiffed wizard typically depositing another fierce right-footed effort beyond the flailing limbs of an opponent's 'keeper.

Anthony Martial

Emblematic of France's riches in attack, Manchester United's blockbuster summer signing Anthony Martial is a symbol of the future of Les Bleus football.

Adept both on the left wing and up top, the 20-year-old former Monaco standout is the perfect complement to a traditional No. 9 like Olivier Giroud. He's climbed every rank of the national setup since he starred for the under-16 side.

Poised beyond his years when on the ball in the area, Martial is nightmare fuel for right-backs and centre-halves alike.

Antoine Griezmann

Like Martial, Atletico Madrid stud Antoine Griezmann is as lethal in attack as he is versatile. The Real Sociedad academy product has seven goals for France in 25 caps, and can play on both the right and on the left, where he deputized for an injured Franck Ribery during the 2014 World Cup to rave reviews.

His flexibility on the pitch offers Deschamps several tactical advantages, and his adroitness in front of the net makes him one of the continent's best finishers. It's almost unfair that France can play him and Martial on opposite wings.

Olivier Giroud

Giroud would be Europe's best striker if finishing in front of goal weren't a key variable. As adept in the air as he is at holding the ball up against the run of play, the Arsenal forward's passing skills are often overlooked, and his ability to lay off the ball for the likes of the pacey duo of Martial and Griezmann routinely fails to garner the praise it deserves.

While the 46-time capped Grenoble product may not receive the plaudits of his peers, he excels in other areas when his precision in the area lets him down. Karim Benzema's controversy notwithstanding, Giroud is a superior team player and passer to his attacking colleague.

Substitutes

A second XI of France's backups could likely make the quarter-finals, especially with a midfield that boasts the likes of Dimitri Payet, Kingsley Coman, and Leicester City's diminutive darling N'Golo Kante. Alexandre Lacazette and Benzema as a one-two punch off the bench isn't too shabby either.

Goalkeepers: Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Benoit Costil (Rennes)

Defenders: Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Lucas Digne (Roma), Mathieu Debuchy (Arsenal), Jeremy Mathieu (Barcelona)

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), N'Golo Kante (Leicester City), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)

Forwards: Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Left Home

While other nations struggle to select a 23-man roster strong enough to challenge for continental silverware, Deschamps encounters a different dilemma, with names like Hatem Ben Arfa, Adrien Rabiot, and Nabil Fekir likely to be left out of the squad.

Goalkeepers: Stephane Ruffier (Saint-Etienne), Alphonse Areola (Villarreal)

Defenders: Christophe Jallet (Lyon), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City), Benoit Tremoulinas (Sevilla), Loic Perrin (Saint-Etienne)

Midfielders: Adrien Rabiot (PSG), Mathieu Valbuena (Lyon), Geoffrey Kondogbia (Inter Milan), Hatem Ben Arfa (Nice), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Corentin Tolisso (Lyon)

Forwards: Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres), Ousmane Dembele (Rennes), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Maxwel Cornet (Lyon)

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