Euro 2012 team profiles

France
Team Profile: With two European Cups in 1984 and 2000 and a World Cup in 1998 already in the bag, Les Bleus have a decent enough track record in major tournaments. But after reaching the World Cup final in 2006 (who can forget Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt?) it’s all been downhill, with a dismal performance at Euro 2008 and a disastrous World Cup campaign two years ago in South Africa, which saw then-manager Raymond Domenich publicly lambasted by his own players, prompting a government inquiry. Since then the new manager has managed to steady the ship, resulting in a relatively smooth passage through Euro 2012 qualification and an unbeaten run stretching back 17 games. Finding themselves alongside England in Group D, France won’t exactly be quivering with fear when they meet Roy Hodgson’s men in their opening game on June 11 – they’re unbeaten in the two sides’ last five clashes and have won four of these.