The Four Major Storylines Fueling France’s World Cup 2026 Campaign

1. France is in the running for a third trip to the World Cup finals in a row. The squad is blessed with one of the finest rosters participating in the competition. Their stacked lineup and historical track record make them a favorite to take home the cup. As a result, there are millions of eyes on Les Bleus as they prepare for this year’s tournament. To keep track of all the factors impacting their campaign, we’ve highlighted the four most important stories involving France’s national team in 2026.

2. Didier Deschamps played for and won with France back in 1998. He later took the reins of the national team as manager in 2012. This was high praise considering he was just coming out of a two-year period that included a humiliating group-stage exit at the 2010 World Cup and a disappointing showing at Euro 2012. Since then, it seems everything head coach Deschamps has been doing was in preparation for this moment. He has built his team into one of the most formidable squads in the history of the sport, which reflects his ample ambitions for the tournament.

With rumors of this being his final attempt at taking home the trophy, both players and fans are surely willing to support the legend 100% in his endeavor. There is also some talk of Zinedine Zidane taking over as the next main manager, but Didier will undoubtedly avoid responding until his World Cup campaign has concluded. Should there be any truth to this assumption, then it gives France even more reason to strive for nothing less than the cup this July.

3. The Players vs FFF

France’s disastrous showing at the 2010 World Cup is largely attributed to a dispute between the players and the French Football Federation (FFF). Turmoil within their own ranks was enough to prevent the team from competing effectively on the global stage. While the animosity is no longer as fervent, to this day, there is still palpable tension between the two parties. Several French players, led by Mbappé, challenged the FFF over image rights as recently as four years ago. Stars objected to their likeness being used to promote fast food products and gambling services without their prior knowledge.

The story reignited earlier this year when Cherki, Mbappé, Doué, Olise, and Dembélé all unknowingly featured in another gambling commercial. The FFF has a history of not advocating for the players as they are supposed to, such as remaining silent over online abuse claims and requesting that several players take a smaller bonus for participating in the 2026 World Cup. So far, nothing has rattled the squad like back in 2010, but it seems like one more bit of poorly-timed bad news is all it would take to severely hinder their performance once again.

4. A Stacked Roster

Mbappé is just the tip of the iceberg when evaluating France’s 2026 World Cup squad. Les Bleus boasts an unbelievable lineup of attackers, including Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, Marcus Thuram, Maghnes Akliouche, and Jean-Philippe Mateta. The defense looks somewhat weak in comparison, and even then, you may notice a few big names back there. William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, and Ibrahima Konaté are just a handful of the options Deschaps has at his disposal.

The biggest competing nations can put up an equivalent squad when push comes to shove. However, underdog teams will be in survival mode from the start when facing down this juggernaut. For the group stage fixtures, both Senegal and Norway have a strong enough lineup to fall into the first camp. Iraq is making a relatively rare World Cup appearance, so they will likely be forced into the underdog category during their upcoming match in Philadelphia.

France’s Chance of Success

When you factor all these storylines into the equation, France is still one of the favorites to advance into the knockout stage and also to make it into the finals. Oddsmakers have not been deterred by concerns about Mbappé or drama with the FFF. When it comes down to it, the only thing that matters is the player’s performance on the pitch come matchday.