France
The deepest, most arrogant attack in the world — Mbappe broke a record in game one's 90th minute.
Team rating
- Attack92
- Midfield86
- Defense87
Next matches
- Next upvs IraqLincoln Financial Field, PhiladelphiaJun 22
- vs NorwayGillette Stadium, FoxboroughJun 26
The read
France are perennial — finalists or semifinalists every recent World Cup — playing the deepest, flashiest in the world, led by superstar Kylian Mbappé and the reigning winner (the award for the planet's best player). They opened with a 3-1 win over Senegal, and in that game Mbappé scored his way to becoming France's all-time top scorer. They sit second in their group only because Norway has scored one more goal.
The fan’s readThe deepest, most arrogant on the planet, perennial with a record-breaking Mbappe and the reigning winner — watching them is a highlight reel assembling itself in real time.
Live storylines
- Mbappé vs Haaland — the heirs' duel
The two best forwards of the post-Messi/Ronaldo era are DRAWN IN THE SAME GROUP (Group I) and will meet head-to-head. This is the marquee individual storyline of the whole tournament — and Haaland, a generational goal-machine, has somehow NEVER played a World Cup before now.
Both exploded on matchday 1. Mbappé scored a brace in France's 3-1 win over Senegal — his 2nd goal made him France's all-time top scorer (58). Haaland scored a brace on his World Cup debut in Norway's 4-1 win over Iraq. Norway top the group on goal difference; France 2nd. They meet June 26.
The cast
- Didier DeschampsFrance's coach since 2012 — won the World Cup as a player (1998) and a coach (2018); 2026 is his last tournament before Zidane takes overmanager
- Kylian Mbappe ★France's fastest man just became its all-time leading scorer — and he's only two goals off the World Cup record.ClubReal Madrid
- Ousmane DembeleThe reigning world player of the year, finally healthy at the exact moment it counts.ClubParis Saint-Germain
- Michael OliseThe frontrunner for the NEXT Ballon d'Or, and defenders genuinely cannot read him.ClubBayern Munich
- Bradley BarcolaPure footrace pace — give him grass to run into and it is already over.ClubParis Saint-Germain
- Warren Zaire-EmeryTwenty years old, starting at a World Cup, playing like he is thirty.ClubParis Saint-Germain
- William SalibaThe Arsenal centre-back who made elite defending look like a stroll — pace, poise, and the calm to step out of the back line into midfield.ClubArsenal
- Aurélien TchouaméniThe Real Madrid screen in front of the defense — wins the ball, hides the back four, and lets France's attackers run free.ClubReal Madrid
- Eduardo CamavingaA rubber-limbed Madrid midfielder who slides out of tackles and surges through lines — chaos and class in the same stride.ClubReal Madrid
- Mike MaignanFrance's commanding number one — a shot-stopper who plays like an extra outfielder, the safest hands at the tournament.ClubAC Milan
- Désiré DouéA PSG teenager who already decides Champions League finals — two-footed, fearless, the next great French attacker arriving early.ClubPSG
- Dayot UpamecanoA Bayern centre-back built like a sprinter — raw pace and power that snuffs out counters, when the concentration holds.ClubBayern Munich
- Theo HernándezA left-back who plays like a winger — surges 60 yards with the ball and arrives in the box like a striker.ClubAl-Hilal
Key moments
- 19981998 — first titleFrance won their first World Cup on home soil, beating Brazil 3-0 in the Paris final, with Zinedine Zidane scoring twice — the night France announced itself as a football superpower.
- 20182018 — second titleFrance won the World Cup again, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final; a 19-year-old Mbappé scored, becoming the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pelé.
- 20222022 Final — heartbreakFrance lost the 2022 final to Argentina despite Mbappé scoring a hat-trick — three goals — in the game itself; it finished 3-3 and Argentina won 4-2 on penalties. The defeat that haunts this team.