France came through the 2022 World Cup group stages mostly unscathed to finish top of Group D before laying down a marker in the knockout stages.
Les Bleus' build up to Qatar 2022 was dominated by a host of injury withdrawals, with 2018 heroes N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba both sidelined, alongside 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema on the eve of the tournament.
However, Didier Deschamps' charges have shown the resilience needed from defending champions so far, with Kylian Mbappe staking his claim for the Golden Boot.
A major test lies ahead for France if they want to retain their title from Russia 2018 — and the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on matchday three will be a concern, albeit they rested a host of regular first-team stars — but they showed their class to beat Poland in the Round of 16, England in the quarterfinals, and a determined Morocco team in the semifinals.
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Semifinal: France 2-0 Morocco
After their 2-1 victory over England, France played the tournament's surprise package, Morocco.
Unbeaten Morocco were underdogs again before beating Portugal 1-0 in their quarterfinal, becoming the first African side to reach the final four.
Theo Hernandez gave Les Bleus the lead after just five minutes, but France had to withstand periods of heavy attacking pressure from Morocco before substitute Randal Kolo Muani made it 2-0 after 79 minutes and sealed his side's place in the final.
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Final: France vs Argentina
The final will see France come up against the 'other side' of the knockout stage and clash with South American heavyweights Argentina.
Lionel Messi's date with destiny is the narrative with Argentina reaching the final, and the Paris Saint-Germain superstar will have the Albicelese's 4-3 last-16 defeat to France from 2018 fresh in his mind.
