By Jordan Webb
France plays Honduras on Sunday in the group stage of the 2014 Brazil World Cup. The match starts at 3:00 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream or listen to the radio broadcast with the links provided below.
Frances features a new, revamped squad for the 2014 World Cup. Poor showing in the previous tournaments led France to rebuild their team behind the talents of Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny, according to FIFA.com.
“We’ve gone through a rebuilding phase, because people still associate the team with Knysna [in South Africa] and the way in which we exited the tournament last time,” Giroud told FIFA.com. “The French public hasn’t forgotten what happened, and we’re going to show them that we can keep our flag flying high during the World Cup.”
While the French national team looks for a fresh start under boss Didier Deschamps, the squad will be without Clement Grenier and Franck Ribery, both of who are sidelined for the tournament with injuries.
“Franck has had back problems for weeks, and hadn’t trained much with us. It wasn’t a huge surprise,” Giroud said. “We have to leave all that to one side; it’s already been difficult enough for him. It’s unfortunate that he won’t be with us, but we’ll do our best to ensure that he’s proud of our performances.”
Projected Lineups:
France: Hugo Lloris; Mathieu Debuchy, Eliaquim Mangala, Laurent Koscielny, Patrice Evra; Yohan Cabaye, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi; Mathieu Valbuena, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann.
Honduras: Noel Valladares; Brayan Beckeles, Victor Bernandez, Maynor Figueroa, Emmanuel Izaguirre; Luis Garrido, Wilson Palacios, Juan Carlos Garcia, Roger Espinoza; Carlo Costly, Jerry Bengston.