Blue is still the colour

We shall soon discover if age has withered the world champions. Alex Hayes visits the French team camp in Tignes to hear that continuity remains the buzzword for coach Lemerre

Sven Goran Eriksson may be having sleepless nights as the countdown to Japan and Korea continues in earnest, but at least Ant and Dec can sleep easy. While France can legitimately claim to be the best football nation on the planet, the one aspect of their pre-tournament preparations which has left a lot to be desired has been their official song. How can a team who perform in such perfect harmony on the pitch be represented by a Johnny Hallyday number which would struggle to make it as a Eurovision Song Contest entry?

The players are too polite to criticise France's answer to Elvis Presley, although, as Roger Lemerre points out, if "Tous Ensemble" turns out to be Les Bleus' biggest mistake this summer, then defending their trophy should be a formality.

The manager can afford to be relaxed. Four years after their triumph in Paris, France remain the team to beat. In fact, many believe they will be even harder to break down this time around. Confidence is such that the French Football Federation have extended Lemerre's contract by a further two years – and this before a ball has even been kicked at the finals. Crazy as it may sound, France could be double World and European champions when he eventually steps down in 2004.

Lemerre takes a second to ponder the improbable as we settle down in the team hotel at a pre-World Cup get-together in the French Alps. Then he shakes his head slightly. "Two World Cups and two European Championships," he muses in his usual, quiet voice. "Wow, now that would be some achievement." In truth, a semi-final appearance in this summer's tournament will be the target. Anything more would be a bonus. Anything less, though, would probably prompt the proud Lemerre to resign, taking with him much of the present group. "It's a challenge," he admits, "but we're really looking forward to it. We love having to prove that we are still the team to beat and can still compete with the best of them."

Lemerre's greatest achievement is that he has managed a seamless transition from the Aimé Jacquet years to the present. Apart from a few elements who have retired (Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc, Bernard Lama) or have fallen by the wayside (Bernard Diomède, Stéphane Guivarc'h), the bulk of the French squad have been together since 1996.

"I said when I took on this job that I was here to ensure the continuation of the project," Lemerre says. "My role was never to reform and change, but rather to touch up and help progress. The players and staff set themselves high standards, and I think we have all adhered to them."

The result is that the French football team stand for excellence on and off the field. Over the past eight years, Les Bleus have developed their own successful style of play, as well as their own very private club. The Bordeaux striker Christophe Dugarry, who was one of the founding members of this generation, talks of "friendships that go well beyond the field of play". A good example came during the training camp in the skiing resort of Tignes, when the players were accompanied by their wives. It said everything about the entente which reigns at the heart of the group, not to mention the laissez-faire approach of the management. So far as Lemerre is concerned, you can be a player and an adult at the same time.

Today, being a French international requires certain skills and values. This explains why the young and uncapped Auxerre centre-forward Djibril Cissé was chosen ahead of the more experienced Liverpool player Nicolas Anelka. "To be a member of this team demands a total package," Lemerre says. "If we want to repeat the success of 1998, we need to keep the same ideals." To some, however, this over-reliance on old faces and past glories threatens to undermine France's World Cup campaign. Several members of the squad, not least the Bolton midfielder Youri Djorkaeff, have had disappointing seasons, yet continue to be selected. The risk, critics argue, is that France could repeat the errors of Germany at USA 94, when a tired team surrendered 3-0 to Bulgaria in the quarter-finals.

"I am aware of this side's needs," Lemerre argues. "It does not matter to me what others think of someone like Youri; I know what he is capable of. This team are still young on the whole, and I have brought in fresh blood over the last four years." In fact, while the squad does include seven new faces, the starting XI will be virtually unchanged from France 98.

Who, though, can blame Lemerre for sticking with a winning side? Not the former French manager Michel Platini, who feels that his one-time assistant has succeeded Jacquet to good effect. "Roger has dealt particularly well with the departures of some of the senior players," the two-time World Cup semi-finalist says. "This team look to have the right balance for Japan and Korea." Despite the obvious danger of an ageing defence – Fabien Barthez is 30, Marcel Desailly is 33, Frank Leboeuf is 34, Lilian Thuram is 30, and Bixente Lizarazu is 32 – France are arguably better equipped than last time to win the World Cup. The one big improvement has been in attack, where the trio of Thierry Henry, David Trézéguet and Sylvain Wiltord should prove that offensively Lemerre's team are probably the best since the Brazilians of 1970. One legend certainly agrees. "The great strength of France is that they are a team who attack together," Pele says. "They pour forward as one, which reminds me a lot of our team in Mexico 70."

Where Brazil had Pele in 1970, France have Zinedine Zidane today. After struggling with the early pressure associated with a World Cup on home soil in 1998, the Real Madrid playmaker came to the fore in the 3-0 final defeat of Brazil. He has not looked back since, and, at the age of 30, this tournament should mark his apotheosis. "What can I say about having him in my team?" Lemerre asks rhetorically. "A player like that offers confidence to everyone, because you know he is always likely to produce something special up front. With him, you feel you can win all your matches."

Since 1998, the French have swept all before them like a blue tidal wave. The crash will inevitably come, but not, you suspect, anytime in June 2002.