France compete in Group Nine of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Record:
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World Cup winners in 1998 and 2018
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European champions in 1984 and 2000
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Last World Cup appearance: 2022
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FIFA ranking: 1
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Nickname: Les Bleus (The Blues)
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Top clubs: Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Monaco, Lyon
Qualification: With the best attack in European qualifying Group Four — 16 goals scored — and the best defence — just four conceded — France topped their group unbeaten across six matches, dropping only two points in a 2–2 draw with Iceland.
Coach: A World Cup winner as a player in 1998 — and as captain — and then as manager of the France side that lifted the trophy in Russia in 2018, Didier Deschamps joined the select circle of three men to have won the World Cup both as player and coach, alongside Mário Zagallo (Brazil) and Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany). After 14 years at the helm of Les Bleus, "Dédé" will step down after the American World Cup, hoping to sign off with one final world title.
Star player: Kylian Mbappé. The captain and talisman of the French national team, Kylian Mbappé enters the tournament with enormous determination — and a point to prove after a trophy-less season at Real Madrid marked by off-field turbulence. Two-time La Liga top scorer and 2018 world champion, he returns to his favourite stage — the tournament that announced him to the world — with a sharper appetite than ever.
Ambitions: In what will be Didier Deschamps' final campaign at the helm, France enter as one of the title favourites, aiming to lift the World Cup for a third time in their history, after the triumphs of 1998 and 2018.