Despite not having lost, France has also failed to win in its last two matches corresponding to the fourth and fifth matchdays of the European qualifiers.
Only two points out of six, which is not too generous: nine out of a possible fifteen at the halfway stage of group qualification.
France has excellent players. It is enough to review their squad to find Mappé (today absent due to injury), their star player, Griezmann, Benzema, Pogba and the rest. However, they fail to translate what they potentially have to offer into results.
They top their group, it is true, but Finland, two points behind in second place, also has two games in hand, which could take away the group leadership if they obtain favorable results in both pending matches. And we cannot compare, with the greatest sporting respect for the Finns, the power of one team with another.
It is important to note that only the leader of each group qualifies directly to Qatar 2022. The second places will play a playoff, which is why the current champion will not have to give up any more points if it wants to be in the World Cup in Qatar.
Another team that can take away the dream is Bosnia and Herzegovina because, although they have only two points, they also have two matches pending and if they win them, they would be one point behind the French.
In short, the two teams with two matches pending are the most dangerous rivals for the qualification of the current world champion.
Israel and the Netherlands with their respective thrashings against Austria and Montenegro by 5 to 2 and 4 to 0 have managed to consolidate themselves, one (Israel) as a firm escort of Denmark, undisputed leader of the group, which surprisingly defeated the Faroe Islands by the minimum difference with a goal at the end of the match and an extra player. And the Netherlands, who managed to recompose their lines and escort, in a very difficult group, the surprise leader, Turkey, who defeated Gibraltar by 3 to 0. It is one of the tightest groups as there is only one point between Turkey, who leads with 11 points, and its escorts, the Netherlands and Norway -another surprise- with 10 points, which today defeated Latvia as a visitor by 2 to 0.
Serbia's remaining victory over Luxembourg helped the Serbs to climb to the top of Group A, sharing this privilege with none other than Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.
Of the rest, only Croatia's 1-0 win over Slovakia and Scotland's victory over Moldova by the same score are worth mentioning.
Halfway through the competition, only Denmark, England and Italy have managed to distance themselves sufficiently to still have some margin of error.
The rest know they don't, and if that happens, it could condemn them to failure. There are many favorites that have not yet appeared. And there are many surprises that are giving that to speak and lighting a light of hope in their respective countries.
