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Numbers back France's claim of being soccer's dominant nation

Ask Didier Quillot who he is supporting in the World Cup and the chief executive of France’s first-division league pauses to work up the proper amount of disdain before answering.

“Who am I for? For France, obviously,” he eventually said Wednesday. “I am French. So I am a supporter of my country. “

The answer really isn’t that obvious, though, because Quillot’s league has 19 players spread across the rosters of six of the eight teams in the tournament quarterfinals. The leading scorers for Uruguay and France play in Ligue 1. Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, the hero of Croatia’s victory in the round of 16, plays in France.