Deschamps already decided on starters

Didier Deschamps said he knows exactly who will be taking to the pitch when France open their FIFA World Cup campaign against Honduras.

France head to the tournament in Brazil keen to banish the ghosts of their performances and behaviour from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The French went winless four years ago, finishing bottom of their group behind Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa, while their campaign was marred by a player revolt.

Four years on and France are unbeaten in five games, having scored 18 goals and kept four clean sheets on the back of Sunday’s 8-0 rout of Jamaica.

And barring any unforeseen events, Deschamps seems set on his starting XI for Sunday’s Group E clash in Porto Alegre.

“I know my best line-up,” said Deschamps. “Even if I always have to think about it.

“I’ve known it for a while now. But you never know what might happen.

“I hope that everything will be fine during the week. But I know how we’ll be playing.”

Deschamps added: “They (the players) are happy, they are glad, they are proud to be here.

“This is a new step as we have arrived in Brazil. We get closer to the competition.

“There is a lot of joy. We can show it, we feel it. And the players are working very well.”

While Deschamps is settled on his line-up, he admitted there is still plenty of work to do on the training pitch before going head-to-head with Honduras, who earned a goalless draw against England on Saturday.

“We are not ready yet. We still have this week, we will still work,” the 45-year-old said.

“We will not have the same workloads (as for the last training sessions).

“We have to work on our dynamism, mobility and explosiveness.”

France will also come up against Switzerland and Ecuador in Group E.