France vs. England: Why Les Blues Will Shock England in Opener

England might be favored in their match with France, but the French cannot be overlooked for any reason and will undoubtedly be able to knockoff the English in the club's opening match of Euro 2012.

France is under new leadership as coach Laurent Blanc will look to erase the ineptitude displayed by his current club under former coach Raymond Domenech.

It's a new era for the French and it all begins against England. Sure, the French are favorites already, but here's why France will top England on Monday and shock the world by dominating the English.

Determination

As a club, France is determined not to be embarrassed the way they were in the 2010 World Cup. After that debacle, fans' pride in their club was at an all-time low.

Such a tough time for Les Blues called for changes to be made and now the French are back and better than ever.

Pride will be the No. 1 theme of this tournament for Blanc's squad. They couldn't possibly allow themselves to be beaten like that once again for the sake of their faithful fans, and more importantly, the pride of their country.

This squad will have a ton of extra motivation in this match and they'll need it in order to make up for the failures of this club in the past.

Wayne Rooney Suspension

France lucked out not having to prepare for Rooney in their opening match against England thanks to a suspension the English star received last year.

Not having Rooney could hurt England's offensive hopes, although Ashley Young is no slouch in his own right. Still, it isn't nearly the same as having one of the greatest players in the world on the field.

Blanc's club can focus on shutting down other parts of the English offense instead of having to focus most of their attention on one player.

While it doesn't ensure Les Blues' success in this match, it certainly does help their cause in a big way.

Past Success

The last four times these two have met, France has gotten the better of England three times. Les Blues know exactly how to beat their current opponent thanks to past experience doing so.

On paper, the French are deeper but even when they weren't in years past, that didn't matter one bit. France was still able to win with less and now that they have more, this should be a no-brainer in favor of Les Blues.