Aime Jacquet has explained why the months preceding a FIFA World Cup™ are tortuous for a coach and why he's “very confident” in France's chances at Russia 2018.

Jacquet guided , with current coach Didier Deschamps acting as his captain. And the 76-year-old is upbeat when it comes to French hopes of repeating that feat.

“Honestly, I’m calm and very confident because, given the football we’ve shown for some time, I think Les Bleus won’t be far off,” Jacquet told Radio Scoop. “We have so many good players! The hard part is to form a team, to make good choices at the right time, to develop the champions of the world like in 1998.

“With the quality of this group of players, if they manage to produce their best football at the right time – all at the same time – I can tell you that France will be one of the best teams at the 2018 World Cup.”

Jacquet is also confident Deschamps is the right man to lead France’s challenge.

“A job has been done for a few years, and the current coach was the captain of France ’98, so he knows what he’s doing and he knows where he’s going,” said the man who helped Saint-Etienne win five Ligue 1 titles during his days as a defensive midfielder.

“The few months before a World Cup are awful for a coach, because we are afraid of losing players. But it’s a fantastic challenge.”

France play Australia, Peru and Denmark in Group C at Russia 2018.

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