However, despite all of this glory, the France national soccer team has often lacked for one thing: year-to-year consistency. The team's victories at the World Cup, for instance, have often been followed by years with disastrous early eliminations or failures to qualify, and that fact has left many fans wondering whether the France 2014 FIFA World Cup home jersey will be associated with a good year for the team or a bad one.
2014: An "On" Year?
The unpredictable nature of the team hasn't kept France football shirt products from being big sellers on the Soccer Box online store, though. On the contrary, as the 2014 World Cup draws ever nearer, fans are accumulating gear to cheer on their favorite soccer teams on the global stage, and the France team has shown plenty of strength in support.
One of the reasons for this interest in the France 2014 FIFA World Cup home jersey could be that many fans are assuming that this will be an "on" year for the French football team. Indeed, from looking at France's record at the World Cup, it is interesting how the team seems to oscillate between very good years and very bad years, almost with nothing in between.
For example, in 1958, France came in third place, only to fail to qualify for the tournament at all four years later. Similarly, France seemed to be on fire in 1982 and 1986, making it all the way to the semifinals in both Cups, and securing a fourth place finish in the former and a third place finish in the latter. Famously, the team's momentum didn't hold, and France failed to qualify for the World Cup in both 1990 and 1994.
The failures didn't discourage the French team too much, though. In 1998, France finally won a World Cup title, getting to experience the glory at home thanks to their role as World Cup hosts. Better yet, France's ultimate victory came against Brazil, denying the South American team a fifth World Cup trophy (Brazil would have to wait another four years to reach that milestone).
In typical France fashion, though, the oscillations continued in 2002 (with a shocking elimination in the group stage), in 2006 (with a runner-up finish and an exciting championship match against Italy), and in 2010 (with another disappointing group stage elimination).
Chances in Brazil
Now, if the rule of France's "on" and "off" years holds up in Brazil this summer, then the France home jersey could very likely become the mark of another strong French finish. Current FIFA world rankings have France slotted at number 16, meaning that many experts aren't expecting them to do that well. However, France's unbelievable pattern of good tournament years followed by bad tournament years is hard to forget, and it will at least be interesting to see whether the pattern continues for yet another year.
The good news for France is that the team is not facing a terribly competitive group stage draw. With a Group E berth against Switzerland, Ecuador, and Honduras, the French team won't have to play against any real world soccer heavyweights (like Spain, Germany, or Brazil) in the first round. Switzerland is ranked at eight, but the other teams have lower seedings than France, which should help the team escape the group stage for the first time in eight years.
Will it be a strong year for France? Does the team have a chance of claiming its second World Cup title? We will have to wait another few weeks before we can see the team in action. In the interim, however, you can buy your France football shirt on Soccer Box to get ready for the event! Just pick out a jersey that suits your taste.