Before their final group match against Argentina, the Bleuets are on their way to the last four of the U20 World Cup

With two bonus point wins in two matches (49-11 against Spain and 35-21 against Wales), the French Under-20 team has made a perfect start to the World Championship. The only bad news is the injury to flanker Noa Traversier, who has been forced to withdraw from the rest of the competition. He has been replaced by prop Mathéo Frisach .

A choice made by the French staff dictated by the desire to have even more depth in the front line since the young Clermont player can play as either a left or right prop. Otherwise, everything is going well for the Bleuets heading into this third group match against Argentina, who also have ten points (34-27 against the Welsh and 33-30 against the Spanish). No need to get out the calculators. The French team is one point short of qualifying for the semi-finals. "It's not a done deal, we'll still have to get that point," warned manager Cédric Laborde at a press conference. "The important thing is to play a good match, to have fun while putting a lot of pressure on our opponents. That will serve us well for the rest of the competition."

"I'm lucky to have a very cohesive group. I told them this from the start of the competition, and it's becoming clear as the matches go on. All the boys are performing well. I can change the players, but the team's performance doesn't change."

In an attempt to secure a third consecutive win, the French team will once again rotate its starting lineup. Following the nine changes between the first two matches, seven more have been made. "This competition format is very unique, with a match every five days," Laborde emphasized. "And if we want to achieve the goals we've set for ourselves, we also have to manage playing time. I'm lucky to have a very cohesive squad. I told them that from the start of the competition, and it's becoming clear as the matches go on. All the guys are performing well. I can change players, but the team's performance doesn't change. So I'm sticking with this strategy."

Only two players will have started all three group matches as starters: center Robin Taccola and winger Tom Levêque.

The last time France U20 and Argentina U20 met at the World Championship was in 2019. The Bleuets lost 26-47 in the group stage. This didn't stop them from qualifying for the semi-finals (as the best second-place finisher) and even winning the title! If the French do their job, and the logic is respected in the other groups, they could face the Baby Blacks in the semi-finals (Monday, July 14).

Finally, it's worth noting that by dropping a point to the Pumitas, they would also qualify for the semi-finals. This would eliminate the English, the reigning world champions, who beat the French team in last year's final (21-13). Do the Bleuets have this in mind? "It's a French fan thing," smiled Cédric Laborde. "We'll try to play the match as seriously as possible and see what happens..."

14/16

The French U20 team has won 14 of its last 16 group matches at the U20 World Championship. However, one of its two losses was against Argentina (26-47, in 2019). Furthermore, the Pumitas have won six straight matches in the competition: the last two group matches last year, as well as their two classification matches (they finished 5th), and finally both group matches this year. This is their best run in the competition.