New Delhi, July 11 -- France's football talent pool runs deep. The nation has a history of attractive football. And yet, when it won its first World Cup in 1998, it was through a defensive attitude under a conservative manager, Aime Jacquet. His captain then, Didier Deschamps, has managed France for 14 years now, perpetuating the cautious approach, holding back rampaging rivers of talent behind a dam of pragmatism and negation.

Finally, there's a twist in the tale. In his last tournament as France manager, Deschamps has fielded four fearsome attacking players: Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and either Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola. They are supported by an adventurous central midfielder in Adrien Rabiot and attacking full...