Nickname: Les Bleus

How they qualified: 2nd Place – Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup – European Qualifier

Notable honours: 4th place – Olympic Games (1920, 1928, 1936), 7th place – FIH Men’s World Cup (1971, 1990), 8th place – FIH Men’s World Cup (2018), 6th place – FIH Champions Trophy (1992), 4th place – EuroHockey Nations Championship (1970)

Rank in previous WC editions: 1971 – 7th, 1990 – 7th, 2018 – 8th.

In 2018, France arrived in Bhubaneswar for their first FIH Men’s World Cup for 28 years, with their last appearance coming at 1990 competition in Lahore, Pakistan, where they finished seventh. Having been drawn in the same pool as Rio 2016 Olympic champions Argentina, Spain, and New Zealand, many expected them to be on the first plane out of India. However, after suffering a narrow defeat against the Black Sticks, Les Bleus achieved a set of results which would see them go all the way to the World Cup quarter finals. A draw with higher-ranked Spain was followed by a stunning 5-3 victory over Argentina, sealing their place in the knock-out stages of the competition, where they beat China to set up a last eight meeting with Australia. Although the mighty Kookaburras brought France’s magnificent run to an end, they left the competition with their heads held high, having earned respect from everyone who saw them in action.

Since then, France – who are building towards the Olympic Games Paris 2024, where they will compete as hosts – have been going from strength to strength. They competed in the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League, registering wins against India, South Africa, and Argentina before earning their ticket to this event with a second-place finish at the European Qualification event in Cardiff, won by hosts Wales. A fifth-place finish at the recent FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup South Africa 2022 event was perhaps below expectations, but with the likes of penalty corner ace Victor Charlet and outstanding attacking talent Timothée Clément, France will be a dangerous outfit here in Odisha.

One to watch: Timothée Clément. A young man with the world at his feet. Crowned Best Player of the Tournament at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, where France claimed the bronze medal, before being named voted as the men’s FIH Rising Star of the Year for 2021-22.