France World Cup 2026: Les Bleus to overcome the blues they suffered in Qatar

There are 48 teams heading to the FIFA World Cup this summer in North America, 16 more than there were four years ago in Qatar. This shouldn't bother a team such as France given their pedigree on the world stage and their stacked squad full of talent.

Winners eight years ago, runners-up last time, there will be lots of eyes on Les Bleus. Below are my France World Cup 2026 predictions as I assess their squad and credentials of winning the tournament.

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Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Lens), Brice Samba (Rennes)

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (Paris St-Germain), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamenaco (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Fenerbache), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St-Germain)

Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (Paris St-Germain), Rayan Cherki (Man City), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Desire Doue (Paris St-Germain), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Jean-Phillipe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)

France are making their eighth successive appearance at the World Cup finals, a run which began when they hosted and won the 1998 edition. Twenty years later they claimed their second crown in Russia.

Since then, Les Bleus have become a superpower on the world stage, hotly anticipated to compete for every tournament they qualify for. They reached the final in Qatar four years ago but lost out to Argentina, denying them the chance to join Italy and Brazil as a nation who won back-to-back tournaments.

France are once again led by Didier Deschamps, who leads the team for a seventh straight major tournament. He's been in the post for just shy of 14 years and he's the longest-serving manager at the World Cup this summer.

The two-time champions are currently the second favourites to win the World Cup with Betfred, but they are the number one ranked nation by FIFA coming into the tournament.

Les Bleus made light work of qualifying as they went unbeaten in their group, winning five of their six fixtures. France are a team striking envy into every other nation because of the depth of talent that they have.

World Cup Odds

Their 26-man squad heading to North America is filled with attacking talent and their forward line is considered the strongest at the World Cup on paper. It features Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, who is just one goal away from joining Olivier Giroud as their all-time top scorer.

Then there is Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, his Paris Saint-Germain teammates Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue, Manchester City's Rayan Cherki and Bundesliga Player of the Season Michael Olise. God help the defenders who have to come up against this brilliant bunch.

Some people question the strength of France's midfield options, but I think the resources they have in the final third will win games single-handedly.

Group I Fixtures:

16 June 3pm local (8pm BST) - vs Senegal (New York)

22 June 5pm local (10pm BST) - vs Iraq (Philadelphia)

26 June 3pm local (8pm BST) - vs Norway (Boston)

Player to watch: Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe is arguably the face of the France national team and he is going to be someone they turn to for inspiration in the final third. The good news for him is that he is joined by many attacking players who can have an impact on games, but his record at the World Cup stands him above the rest.

The striker has bagged 12 goals in 14 appearances at the finals, including four across the previous two finals. He was the Golden Boot winner four years ago and he's just come off the back of scoring 41 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid.

Football Odds

Prediction: Winners

Since 2018, I've thought France's squad depth and conveyor belt of emerging talent could make them a powerhouse for the next decade and beyond. They came so close to defending their crown in Qatar, and that feeling of heartbreak will likely have them pumped up for this summer in North America.

They have an interesting group against a couple of dark horses in Senegal and Norway, but I'd still back Les Bleus to come out on top. The rich experience of knockout football over the past two editions should then serve them brilliantly in helping them to reach the final.

There are a couple of teams, I think, that could pose a problem for Deschamps' men. They are the European champions Spain and their neighbours Portugal. Each of them have strong squads but as I have mentioned, I don't believe anyone comes close to the attacking roster that France boasts.

This list of individual talent will often be too much for their opponents, in my opinion. The midfield will be put to the test this summer but the attacking stars can go out and ensure they score more than the teams they are facing.

Someone might need to tell Vegedream that he has to create another hit should France go all the way again.