{"id":479523,"date":"2026-06-06T15:51:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/479523\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T15:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:51:13","slug":"france-world-cup-2026-team-guide-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/479523\/","title":{"rendered":"France World Cup 2026 team guide | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is part of the Guardian\u2019s 2026 World Cup Experts\u2019 Network<\/a>, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.<\/p>\n

The plan<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a pain to watch, but it makes you win,\u201d is perhaps the most succinct summary of France under Didier Deschamps. The words were Antoine Griezmann\u2019s during Euro 2024 \u2013 a competition in which Les Bleus reached the semi-finals. However, goals were hard to come by and in the defeat against Spain<\/a> Randal Kolo Muani became their only player to score from open play. The other three goals came from the penalty spot or own goals.<\/p>\n

Granted, this was France<\/a> at their most conservative. The boundaries of Deschamps\u2019s approach, it seems, were being tested. The metaphorical handbrake was released during France\u2019s tour of the US in March as his side scored five goals in two games against Brazil and Colombia. During that trip, Deschamps said he wanted his team to be \u201cless predictable and readable\u201d, but would their defensive solidity be sacrificed for attacking flair? \u201cAt times, we\u2019ve been a bit on the limit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideSweden: Group I fixturesShow<\/p>\n

16 June v Senegal, New York\/New Jersey (3pm local, 8pm BST, 17 June 5am AEST)<\/p>\n

22 June v Iraq, Philadelphia (5pm local, 10pm BST, 23 June 7am AEST)<\/p>\n

26 June v Norway, Boston (3pm local, 8pm BST, 27 June 5am AEST)<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the devil on his shoulder talking. The defence remains the backbone; only four European nations conceded fewer goals than Les Bleus in qualifying, but there is now an array of attacking talent at Deschamps\u2019s disposal, including the captain, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, the Ballon d\u2019Or winner, Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9<\/a>, and Michael Olise.<\/p>\n

Defender Lucas Hernandez says France have \u201cthe best attack in the world\u201d and when you look at the individuals it is hard to contest that claim. Moulding them into something coherent is the challenge for Deschamps and finding the correct formula has been difficult since Olivier Giroud\u2019s retirement from international football in 2024. In the March friendlies, the balance seemed to have been struck, but whether the more expansive prototype will be used is the big question.<\/p>\n

France<\/a>The coach<\/p>\n

Dider Deschamps has become the gold standard of international management. His conservatism and pragmatism have elicited replication, notably by Gareth Southgate when he was in charge of England. Despite taking France to back-to-back World Cup<\/a> finals, as well as a Euros final during his 12-year tenure, his approach has regularly drawn criticism. \u201cWatch something else, then,\u201d was his response to such jibes. His success justifies his dogmatism and, given he will step away from Les Bleus this summer, he is not about to change tack now. Having previously had success with Monaco and Marseille, Deschamps is open to a return to club management.<\/p>\n

Star playerKylian Mbapp\u00e9 leads a stellar cast of French attacking talent. Photograph: Nick Wass\/AP<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 leads an all-star cast and he remains the main man, as has been the case since he fired France to World Cup glory in 2018<\/a>. Mbapp\u00e9 has evolved from an electrifying winger to a prolific goalscorer. Now operating as a No 9, France\u2019s attack has been built around him \u2013 and for good reason given Mbapp\u00e9 is about to overtake Giroud as the country\u2019s all-time goalscorer.<\/p>\n

One to watch<\/p>\n

Warren Za\u00efre-Emery is only 20, but has already experienced his fair share of ups and downs. He scored on his France debut at the age of 17 and was sold as the next big thing. Injuries and a subsequent loss of form meant he fell down the pecking order at PSG and demoted to the France Under-21s. He has bounced back spectacularly. Now a key member of arguably the best club midfield in world football, he seeks a more prominent role with Les Bleus, where he could even be a solution to Deschamps\u2019s right-back problem, as he showed in the Champions League against Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n

Unsung hero<\/p>\n

Dayot Upamecano has added consistency and composure to his game in the past year. While William Saliba has come in for plaudits for his performances at Arsenal, and is also growing in stature for France, he is massively helped in the national team by Upamecano. The Bayern Munich centre-back, now 27 and in his prime, started all of the World Cup qualifiers bar a dead rubber against Azerbaijan and has kept Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 on the fringes of the setup.<\/p>\n

Probable starting XI Illustration: GuardianWhat to expect from fans at games<\/p>\n

As has been the case for many fans, pricing has been a deterrent for the French. Nonetheless, up to 1,000 supporters are expected at each match, with about 650 Irr\u00e9sistibles Francais (IF), Les Bleus\u2019 biggest organised fan group, expected for the opener against Senegal. It is the IF who bring the noise in the stands, albeit their chants can be rather simplistic. \u201cAllez Les Bleus\u201d (\u201cGo the Blues\u201d), \u201cQui ne saute pas n\u2019est pas Fran\u00e7ais\u201d (\u201cThose who don\u2019t jump are not French\u201d, which is accompanied by mass jumping) and La Marseillaise, the national anthem, will be on rotation at stadiums.<\/p>\n

Relationship with the US\/Trump<\/p>\n

There were four months between Donald Trump\u2019s first election<\/a> as president and that of Emmanuel Macron in France in 2017 <\/a>and the pair initially enjoyed a strong relationship. Recently, however, that has teetered, notably due to disagreements over the war in Ukraine and, more recently, the war in Iran. Trump has criticised France\u2019s reluctance to support the US in Iran and the criticism became personal when he singled out Macron\u2019s wife, Brigitte. \u201c[She] treats him extremely badly,\u201d said Trump, referencing a video from last year in which Brigitte appeared to shove Emmanuel in the face. President Macron replied by saying that Trump\u2019s comments were \u201cneither elegant nor up to standard\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Written by Luke Entwistle for GFFN<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article is part of the Guardian\u2019s 2026 World Cup Experts\u2019 Network, a cooperation between some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-479523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}