2024 World Championships: France, Portugal, Brazil and Italy want 3rd place!

As in almost every edition of the men's world championships, the French team has set itself the goal of third place, behind Spain and Argentina, who seem destined for life to find themselves in the final for the title. For the French, this bronze medal is in their sights, but it is also coveted by other ambitious nations. In particular Italy, Portugal and Brazil.

(2/2) 2024 World Cup – Which nations are the favorites for the 2024 World Championships?

France-Italy Duel: The European Rivalry

On the men's side, France will not be the favorite since it currently occupies (weight by nations) fourth place in the world behind Italy. This opposition is particularly anticipated by the fans, especially since France almost created a surprise during the last European Championships. The French team, led by Thomas Leygue , the 102nd player in the world, is counting on a strong homogeneity in its squad. Opposite, Italy has two players among the 100 best in the world: Aris Patiniotis (53) et Facundo Dominguez (60). A France vs Italy for 3rd place, where do we sign?

Italie	Ranking	France	Ranking
Aris Patiniotis	53	Thomas Leygue	102
Facundo Dominguez	60	Bastien Blanqué	121
Simone Cremona	104	Dylan Guichard	120
Frame Cassetta	105	Johan Bergeron	137
Giulio Grazzioti	114	Manuel Vives	148
Lorenzo DiGiovanni	125	Maxime Joris	171
Riccardo Sinicropi	141	Thomas Vanbauce	178
Michael Bruno	162	Timeo Fonteny	294

Brazil: An unbalanced but formidable team

Brazil remains a dangerous team despite a lack of consistency that cost them two years ago against Portugal, despite the presence at the time of Pablo Lima. The leading duo, composed of Lucas Campagnolo (26) et Lucas Bergamini (20), is formidable, but the rest of the team is further away from the world's best. We find Francisco Gomes (148), the left-hander, former partner of Jérémy Scatena, as well as figures from the APT Padel Tower and A1Padel, Such as Julio Julianoti , Joao Pedro Flores et Lucas da cunha .

Brazil	Ranking
Lucas Bergamini	20
Lucas Campagnolo	26
Francisco Gomes	148
Lucas da cunha	266
Matheus Simonato	266
Joao Pedro Flores	272
André Freitas	376
Julio Julianoti	510

Portugal: A threat to watch

Portugal, although ranked 11th in terms of "weight per nation", is a more than serious opponent for France. Led by the World No. 82 Antonio Luque , Pedro Aurojo (139) and the brothers DEUS , well known to the French public, Portugal does not have the same team depth. But, an association Luque / Araujo can do damage… And it is also she who brings back the 2nd decisive point during the Euro in Sardinia. If overall, France seemed better than Portugal, this strategy of the Portuguese team to bet everything on 2 pairs and to hope at the same time for a favorable configuration, in the position of the pairs, then obviously, Portugal is a serious contender for 3rd place. The other Portuguese players are located beyond the 150th place in the world, which can be a hindrance against more homogeneous teams.

Portugal	Ranking
Antonio Luque	82
Miguel Deus	108
Nuno deus	117
Pedro Araujo	139
Afonso Fazendeizo	182
Diogo Jesus	695
Pedro Perry	1261
Vasco Pascoal	1261

Sweden in a year of transition

For Sweden, who are behind Brazil in terms of weight per nation, the competition could be a turning point. The team is in a transition year, with young players coming on board. Despite this, France remain favourites in their possible future confrontations. Victor Stjern , a former national team player, will not be able to try to take revenge since his mandate within the Swedish team was not renewed. Daniel Windahl (67) et Simon vasquez (115) represent Sweden's best chances, but on paper, France seem better equipped.

Sweden	Ranking
Daniel Windahl	67
Simon vasquez	115
Albin Olsson	185
Adam Axelsson	199
linus frost	257
Daniel Appelgren	266
Douglas Rutgersson	411
Willy Tiger Släryd	442

United Arab Emirates: A team to watch

Finally, the United Arab Emirates, twelfth in weight by nation, count on a quartet of players, including Inigo Jofre (46) et Arnau Ayats (55). But with limited depth, the Emirates team still seems too far away from being able to compete with nations like France or Italy for third place in the world.

United Arab Emirates	Ranking
Inigo Jofre	46
Arnau Ayats	55
Sergio Icardo	135
Francis Jury	284
Fares Aljanahi	575
Abdulla Alabdulla	780
Majed Aljanahi	850
Salem Alhooli	1261

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.