France, World Cup 2026: Greatest team in last 30 years looks set for more glory under Kylian Mbappe

If France play another final, they will be the third team after Brazil and West Germany to feature in three straight finals.

Updated on: May 28, 2026, 15:50:30 IST

Written by Prateek Srivastava

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France have been the greatest footballing nation in the last three decades or so.

Will it be a hat-trick of World Cup finals for Kylian Mbappe's France? (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

During this period, they have claimed two World Cups, one Euro, two World Cup runners-up finishes, and one Euro runners-up finish. No other team boasts that kind of achievement during the stated period -- holistically.

And once again, they go into the 2026 World Cup as red-hot favourites. They won the 2018 World Cup in Russia and lost the 2022 World Cup final to Lionel Messi's Argentina in a thrilling showdown. If France play another final, they will become the third team after Brazil (1994, 1998 and 2002) and West Germany (1982, 1986 and 1990) to feature in three straight World Cup finals.

Also Read: FIFA World Cup 2026, Germany: Julian Nagelsmann looks to get respect back for four-time world champions

Some of the finest players in international football at present are part of the French squad that was released earlier this month. Kylian Mbappe needs no introduction. In the 2022 final, he had scored a hat-trick in France's defeat. Once again, he will be France's biggest bet to take them to a third World Cup trophy.

Ousmane Dembele is another French forward who will be a matter of concern for other teams. Dembele scored 35 goals last season across competitions and won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain. A couple of days later, he can inspire PSG to another Champions League win when they take on Arsenal in the final.

Dembele is the only second French player, after Karim Benzema, to win a Ballon d'Or this century. He will look to make a name for himself at the World Cup because, despite being in France's World Cup squads on the last two occasions, he is yet to score his first goal in the grandest of football tournaments.

Mbappe is expected to captain the team, and he is two goals away from overtaking Olivier Giroud as the highest goal scorer for France. Giroud scored 57 goals during his time.

Manager Didier Deschamps has been in the role since 2012, and he has undoubtedly made the French team a formidable unit. He has total control of the team and expect him to take Les Bleus to greater heights in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Among other key figures in the team, Mbappe's Bayern Munich teammate Michael Olise and Dembele's PSG teammate Desire Doue are prominent. Both are also attackers, and the quartet will look to mesmerise their opponents no end. Apart from Mbappe and Dembele, defender Lucas Hernandez and midfielder N'Golo Kante are the other two survivors from Russia 2018.

France are paired with African Senegal, West Asian Iraq and European Norway in Group I. They begin their campaign on June 16 against Senegal. Iraq is up next on June 22, and finally Norway on June 26.

There are very few teams in world football today who can challenge Les Bleus. If France go on to win, it will be no news. So good they have been in the last few years. Only if they lose -- at any stage -- that’s going to be news.

Full 26-member squad:

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).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prateek Srivastava
Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age. In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there. After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month. Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser. While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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