The Four Biggest Storylines for France at the 2026 World Cup

Les Bleus heads to this summer’s tournament as one of the leading favorites.

France is looking to make history. | FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

France is looking to reach a third straight World Cup final this summer and has every reason to believe a second victory in three tournaments is on the cards across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

With the most valuable roster at the tournament, France arrives as one of the favorites to go all the way, but fans of Les Bleus will look to the team’s history in this competition for evidence that they can ill-afford to get ahead of themselves.

Here are four storylines to watch out for with France this summer.

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Deschamps’s Farewell

Didier Deschamps will step down after the tournament. | Loic VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

Didier Deschamps, a winner with France in 1998, took charge of the national team as manager in 2012 after a two-year period which included a humiliating group-stage exit at the 2010 World Cup and a disappointing showing at Euro 2012.

Fourteen years later, he will bring the curtain down on his France tenure this summer, having rebuilt the team into one of the greatest in modern history. There will be a real determination from both the players and Deschamps himself to secure a hero’s farewell and make the sight of him lifting the World Cup trophy his parting image.

Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to take charge upon Deschamps’s exit, but that is a conversation for the future. Now, it’s all about winning a second World Cup title for the manager that dragged France out of the doldrums 14 years ago.

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The Mbappé Show

Kylian Mbappé is under real pressure at club level. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé is no stranger to the spotlight, but the 2025–26 season brought the sort of attention he has rarely been forced to endure throughout his glittering playing career.

A return of 42 goals in 44 games did little to endear Mbappé to a large number of Real Madrid fans who, as the season progressed, began to turn on the superstar forward amid suggestions he may actually have been more of a hinderance than a help to the Madrid squad. Accusations of an over-inflated ego were not helped by Mbappé’s decision to stand in front of French president Emmanuel Macron in a recent team photo.

Nobody on the planet is doubting Mbappé’s talent but, with many now questioning if the positives outweigh the negatives, the pressure on his shoulders is now as high as ever. Leading France to glory this summer would go a long way towards silencing the critics.

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Top-Heavy Roster

Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise feature in a star-studded attack. | Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Mbappé is the biggest name in a star-studded France forward line that boasts otherworldly quality from start to finish.

Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, Marcus Thuram, Maghnes Akliouche and Jean-Philippe Mateta complete what is an utterly ludicrous group of attacking players, but that sort of confidence is not shared when it comes to defense.

Again, there are plenty of big names at the back—William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté to name just a few—but they have not always worked in perfect harmony and a first clean sheet in 2026 continues to elude Les Bleus.

Big nations will back themselves to find a way through France, while underdogs may fancy themselves on the counter.

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Players vs. Federation

FFF president Philippe Diallo is at the heart of a handful of disputes. | Pascal POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP/Getty Images

France’s collapse at the 2010 World Cup centered around a dispute between the players and the French Football Federation (FFF). While tensions between the two parties are nowhere near as high these days, they have never gone away.

Four years ago, a number of French players—led by Mbappé—challenged the FFF over image rights, objecting to their pictures being used to promote gambling and fast food without their knowledge. Those wounds have been reopened this year as Cherki, Mbappé, Doué, Olise and Dembélé all unknowingly featured in another gambling commercial.

That is far from the only prickly subject in the France camp. Players have previously criticized the FFF for a failure to protect them from online abuse and recent reports note several players have been frustrated by requests to reduce the bonuses due to them for this summer’s World Cup.

As it stands, there is nothing to suggest the events of 2010 could repeat themselves, but the awkward relationship between the squad and the FFF means something similar never feels too far away.

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