Former Flamengo star Ronaldinho (C) takes part in a training session with his new club Atletico Mineiro in Belo Horizonte on Monday.
Underdogs or potential finalists? Dark horses or dead carts? Few teams competing at Euro 2012 are shrouded in as much uncertainty as Laurent Blanc's France.
Les Bleus are unbeaten in 18 games — a run including friendly wins over England, Brazil and Germany — but are only ranked 16th in the world, having fallen as low as 27th in September 2010.
They are touted as contenders for the top prize in Poland and Ukraine, but were 12 minutes from the playoffs before a Samir Nasri penalty in their last qualifier at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina secured their place at the tournament.
Their squad will feature players from Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and AC Milan, and yet they insist on portraying themselves as underdogs.
"There will be a favourite — England — and behind them, the three teams all have realistic hopes of qualifying," said Blanc after France were drawn alongside England, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine in Group D.
The reason for France's circumspection is the dark shadow cast by the events of the 2010 World Cup in SouthAfrica, which continues to linger over the squad.
Having touched rock-bottom after the training ground strike that brought ridicule on the whole country, France's confidence remains fragile.
Results may be pursuing an upward curve, but there is still some way to go before the wounds heal completely and Blanc has repeatedly warned against
the dangers of expectation.
"The problem is that people have very short memories," he said in February.
"After the trauma of the 2010 World Cup, everyone said that we had to rediscover some humility. And 17 months later, we want to pretty much win the Euro or reach theTinal.
"It's very good to have ambition, but you can't do it with a magic wand. Yes, we were world champions in 1998, European champions in 2000, and World Cup finalists in 2006. But wake up, stop living in the past!
"Since 2006, we haven't won one knockout match in an international competition."
The French media have expressed doubts about France's ability to dominate opposing sides, but February's 2-1 friendly win over Germany in Bremen has made it increasingly difficult to downplay the team's potential.
Germany were missing several key players but France's enterprising victory was nonetheless impressive.
The emergence of Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy has softened the blow of Bacary Sagna's absence through injury, while strikers Olivier Giroud of Montpellier and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid have enjoyed the best seasons of their careers.
There are concerns at centre-back, though, with Philippe Mexes having spent several games on the bench at Milan during the second half of the season and Adil Rami appearing fatigued after a demanding debut campaign with Valencia.
Blanc has apparently resolved one dilemma, however, by handing the captain's armband to Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris after months of experimentation.
France open their campaign against England in Donetsk in June 11, evoking memories of their opening clash at Euro 2004, when an in jury-time Zinedine Zidane brace earned Les Bleusa2-1 win.
Memorable games have been in short supply for France since Zidane's exit from the international scene in 2006, but no team will relish the prospect of facing Blanc's men this summer.