The Les Blues World Cup 2026 Squad  June-July 2026 ←Last French Squad that faced England (1041)
Player	Birthdate	Age	Pos	Club	App	G
25. Akliouche, Maghnes	25 February 2002	24	RF	AS Monaco	10	1
12. Barcola, Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Addo	2 September 2002	23	LF	Paris Saint-Germain FC	27	5
24. Cherki, Mathis Rayan	17 August 2003	22	AM	Manchester City FC, England	13	2
7. Dembélé, Masour Ousmane	15 May 1997	29	CF	Paris Saint-Germain FC	66	12
3. Digne, Lucas	20 July 1993	32	LB	Aston Villa FC, England	63	0
20. Doué, Désiré Nonka-Maho	3 June 2005	21	RF	Paris Saint-Germain FC	14	3
2. Gusto, Malo Arthur	19 May 2003	23	RB	Chelsea FC, England	15	0
21. Hernandez, Lucas François Bernard	14 February 1996	30	LB	Paris Saint-Germain FC	42	0
19. Hernandez, Théo Bernard François =brothers	6 October 1997	28	LB	Al-Hilal SFC, Saudi Arabia	48	2
13. Kanté, N'Golo	29 March 1991	35	DM	Fenerbaçhe SK, Turkey	69	2
15. Konaté, Ibrahima	25 May 1999	27	CB	Real Madrid CF, Spain	29	0
6. Koné, Manu Emmanuel Boris	17 May 2001	25	CM	AS Roma, Italy	19	0
5. Koundé, Jules Olivier	12 November 1998	27	RB	FC Barcelona, Spain	55	0
26. Lacroix, Guy Maxence	6 April 2000	26	CB	Crystal Palace FC, England	6	0
16. Maignan, Mike Peterson	3 July 1995 in Cayenne, French Guiana	31	Gk	AC Milan, Italy	47	0
22. Mateta, Jean-Philippe	28 June 1997	29	CF	Crystal Palace FC, England	7	2
10. Mbappé Lottin, Kylian Sanmi	20 December 1998	27	CF	Real Madrid CF, Spain	105	64
11. Olise, Michael Akpovie	12 December 2001 in London, England	24	RF	FC Bayern München, Germany	24	7
14. Rabiot-Provost, Adrien Thibault Marie	3 April 1995	31	CM	AC Milan, Italy	65	7
23. Risser Birckel, Robin François Philippe	2 December 2004	21	Gk	RC Lens	0	0
17. Saliba, William Alain André-Gabriel	24 March 2001	25	CB	Arsenal FC, England	38	0
1. Simba, Brice Laurice	25 April 1994 in Linzolo, Rep Congo	32	Gk	Stade Rennais FC	4	0
8. Tchouaméni, Aurélien Djani	27 January 2000	26	DM	Real Madrid CF, Spain	50	3
9. Thuram-Ulien, Marcus Lilian	6 August 1997 in Parma, Italy	28	CF	FC Internazionale Milano, Germany	35	3
4. Upamecano, Dayotchanculle Oswald	27 October 1998	27	CB	FC Bayern München, Germany	45	2
18. Zaïre-Emery, Warren Marie Jean-Pierre	8 March 2006	20	CM	Paris Saint-Germain FC	12	1

Squad details correct up to and including France's match against Spain on 14 July 2026.
Tallies taken from FFF

Diary

Wednesday, 15 April 2026 - France striker Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup after suffering a rupture of the Achilles tendon during Liverpool's Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain on Tuesday. Ekitike left the pitch at Anfield on a stretcher after slipping in the first half and Liverpool fear a long absence for the 23-year-old, which could also rule him out of the start of next season. "It's hard, maybe even unfair... but I'm grateful this is happening to me here, among you. I'm not alone. Your strength and your love will be my driving force. See you again soon, Anfield." Ekitike wrote to Liverpool fans on social media. He went for scans today, which confirmed the extent of the damage.

Thursday, 14 May 2026 - Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele will lead a star-studded France attack after Didier Deschamps announced his 26-man squad for this summer's World Cup. Michael Olise and Desire Doue complete an exciting attacking quartet while playmaker Rayan Cherki and defender William Saliba are among seven Premier League-based players in the squad. Full-back Lucas Hernandez and midfielder N'Golo Kante join Mbappe and Dembele as the only survivors from France's 2018 World Cup-winning group. Deschamps, who has led France to back-to-back World Cup finals, has made a few surprise calls ahead of his final major tournament as head coach. There is no place in the squad for Eduardo Camavinga or Randal Kolo Muani—both of whom were involved in 2022. Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier also misses out, with uncapped Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser joining Brice Samba as back-up to Mike Maignan. Deschamps said "It's a squad. Not necessarily the 26 best players. It's about balance and how the team comes together. I can imagine how disappointed [Camavinga] must be. He's coming off a tough season where he didn't play as much and suffered injuries. I've got decisions to make and a squad to put together."

Monday, 8 June 2026 - The World Cup will mark the end of an era as Didier Deschamps prepares to wave goodbye to France after the finals. Already a World Cup-winning captain in 1998, Deschamps became only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a manager in 2018 when he led France to the biggest prize in football. When France play their final game at the World Cup it will be the end of a 14-year tenure, and in Monday's friendly with Northern Ireland in Lille, the 57-year-old will lead his nation for one final time on home soil before they head to the USA. It is likely to be a night filled with emotion. "I can imagine the state of mind of Didier after all this time spent with the French team," midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. "We're all human beings, we have compassion, we have emotions and everything that comes along with it. The coach has done a great job with the French team and I hope that he will be celebrated, because he deserves it."
France 3 Northern Ireland 1 - In-form winger Michael Olise scored his first international hat-trick to send France to the World Cup with a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland in Lille. In France's final warm-up match before heading to the United States, Olise was the difference as Northern Ireland frustrated the hosts, who had been hoping the pre-match ceremony and fireworks would translate onto the pitch. But it took 43 minutes for France to make the breakthrough with a scruffy goal. Olise touched home after Ousmane Dembele's effort was deflected into the path of the Bayern Munich winger, who was able to fire into the back of the net. While there was an element of fortune about the first goal, his second was a superb finish as he thundered the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area four minutes after the restart. But Ireland got a reward for their efforts when Patrick Kelly tucked home from close range after Shea Charles broke into the area in the 64th minute. But Olise saved his best for last as he curled home from 20 yards with 15 minutes left to put the game beyond doubt. Kylian Mbappe, chasing the goal that would tie him with Olivier Giroud as France's record goalscorer, had an effort ruled out after Desire Doue had strayed offside in the build-up and the French captain also missed numerous chances as the wait will go on into the World Cup. Jamie Donley also had a goal disallowed in first-half stoppage time when Ruairi McConville, who headed the ball across goal for the striker to tap in, was deemed to have pushed Theo Hernandez.

Monday, 15 June 2026 - Kylian Mbappe has vowed to increase his defensive efforts as France prepare to get their World Cup campaign under way against Senegal on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Real Madrid striker has faced scrutiny over both his performances and leadership for club and country, with international team-mate Ousmane Dembele publicly backing him, saying that the criticism had gone "too far". Speaking to French newspaper La Parisien, Mbappe faced questions from team-mates and friends, and when teased about his defensive ability by younger brother Ethan, who plays for Ligue 1 side Lille, he acknowledged that he has work to do. "I need to take the extra step [with my defensive work] because it's something important for the team and I have to do it. It will start this time because we want to win, and to win, I'm ready to do whatever because I want to win at all costs."

Tuesday, 16 June 2026 - France 3 Senegal 1 - Kylian Mbappe became France's all-time leading goalscorer with a superb double as Les Bleus beat Senegal in their World Cup opener in New Jersey. Mbappe broke Senegal's resistance in the second half with a low strike before rifling home a sensational long-range effort deep into stoppage time. The Real Madrid forward's second strike lifted him on to 58 goals for Les Bleus - one clear of former record holder Olivier Giroud. Bradley Barcola had earlier put France 2-0 up before Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back, but Mbappe's second of the game ended Senegal's hopes of a comeback. It had been an underwhelming display by France prior to Mbappe's opener as Senegal created the better opportunities and were perhaps unfortunate not to break the deadlock in an impressive first-half display. Nicolas Jackson went closest for the Lions of Teranga when he rifled a low shot against the base of the post - which rebounded off goalkeeper Mike Maignan's foot and trickled narrowly wide of the upright. Ismaila Sarr should have given Senegal the lead on the stroke of half-time but failed to steer his close-range effort on target after connecting with Sadio Mane's cross. France, though, emerged for the second half with renewed purpose and were controversially denied a penalty when Mane appeared to catch Mbappe inside the box. Referee Alireza Faghani initially awarded a corner for France, but the majority of fans inside the stadium were expecting the official to award a spot-kick after he was sent to his monitor by the Video Assistant Referee. Faghani, however, decided that Mbappe had initiated the contact with former Liverpool forward Mane.

Monday, 22 June 2026 - Bad weather delayed fans being able to enter the Philadelphia Stadium for Monday's World Cup match between France and Iraq, after warnings not to travel to the area four hours before kick-off. Heavy downpours and bouts of thunder and lightning are forecast for the Group I tie, which is the 42nd match of this World Cup. "Due to inclement weather in the region, gates opening will be delayed. If you are not in the area, please do not travel to Philadelphia Stadium at this time. "A new gates opening time will be communicated once the weather has passed. If you are near Philadelphia Stadium, please take shelter."
France 3 Iraq 0 - Kylian Mbappe scored twice to move joint-second in the all-time World Cup goalscoring list as France cruised past Iraq in a weather-delayed game in Philadelphia. Mbappe netted early in both halves to take his World Cup goals tally to 16 in 16 games, two shy of Lionel Messi who broke Miroslav Klose's record hours earlier. France v Iraq became the first match at this World Cup to be interrupted by severe weather, with the second half beginning more than two hours after the first period ended because of lightning strikes in the area. Heavy rainfall earlier in the day had delayed supporters' entry to Philadelphia Stadium, although the match kicked off on time. France began strongly and their early dominance was rewarded in the 14th minute when Mbappe arrowed a left-footed strike into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area. But the 2018 champions struggled to create any clear chances after the first-half hydration break, with Iraq able to enjoy longer spells of possession despite losing striker and captain Aymen Hussein to injury. France emerged from the extended break with renewed conviction but were gifted a second goal - Iraq keeper Ahmed Basil failed to control a short goal-kick taken by defender Zaid Tahseen and Ousmane Dembele teed up Mbappe for a simple finish. Les Bleus had further chances to extend their lead - Adrien Rabiot missed a clear header and Michael Olise hit the crossbar with an audacious dink - before Dembele scored their third with a strike into the bottom corner. The goal - set up by a brilliant outside-of-the-foot pass from Olise - was Dembele's first for France at a major tournament in his 20th appearance. Iraq created two decent chances in the final 20 minutes, but defender Rebin Sulaka volleyed over from Zidane Iqbal's corner before Ali Al Hamadi couldn't get on the end of a teasing Marko Farji cross. Mbappe then raced clear late on and looked set to complete his hat-trick, but he lashed a left-footed effort high and wide.

Tuesday, 23 June 2026 - Didier Deschamps will miss his side's final World Cup group game following the death of his mother, the French Football Federation  has confirmed. Deschamps, 57, learned of his mother's passing this morning and has been given permission by FFF president Philippe Diallo to fly back to France to attend the funeral. France, who have already qualified for the knockout stages after beating Senegal and Iraq in their opening two games, face Norway on Friday in Boston to determine the winner of Group I. In a statement, the FFF said assistant coach Guy Stephan will take charge of the squad until Deschamps returns.

Friday, 26 June 2026 - Norway 1 France 4 - Ousmane Dembélé scored a superb hat-trick in 32 minutes as France, led by assistant manager, Guy Stephen, defeated a rotated Norway side to finish top of Group I. Pre-match hopes that this game would be an epic showdown between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé were quashed by the arrival of the teamsheets. Ståle Solbakken made ten changes after two group victories, including resting Haaland. France completely dominated the early stages and deservedly broke through in the seventh minute. Having won the ball in Norway's half, Mbappé spread it wide right to Dembélé in space. The Ballon d'Or winner squared up his marker and slammed home past Egil Selvik. It was 2-0 in the 20th minute when Dembélé completed a lightning counter-attack by cutting off the right-hand side on to his wizardly left foot and whipped a curling shot into the far corner. Norway struck back within 79 seconds, the French defence declining to respond to an attack straight from the kick-off which ended in Rangers attacker Thelo Aasgaard sweeping the ball past a wrong-footed Mike Maignan. But Dembélé was far from done, as he moved himself into contention as the tournament's top scorer with his fourth goal. Again he cut on to his left foot and, with four surrounding defenders paralysed by fear, curled another effort past Norway reserve keeper Selvik. Dembélé was subbed off after 65 minutes as the tempo dropped after the break, but his Paris St-Germain team-mate Désiré Doué stepped up to add a fourth in the 94th minute with a looping header.

Tuesday, 30 June 2026 - France 3 Sweden 0 - Kylian Mbappe became the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup knockout matches as France cruised past Sweden to set up a last-16 tie with Paraguay. A strike in each half took Mbappe to 10 knockout-stage goals, while he now shares the lead in the Golden Boot race at this tournament on six with Argentina's Lionel Messi. Both sides had to contend with scorching temperatures in New Jersey, but Les Bleus wasted little time in bombarding their opponents. An offside flag denied Mbappe a 20th-minute opener before he struck the post when Jules Kounde's low cross found the striker with the goal gaping. Minutes later, Michael Olise hit the foot of the upright with an audacious scissor-kick from just inside the penalty area, while Ousmane Dembele smashed the rebound wide. Sweden goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom frustrated the French with a string of fine saves, but was powerless to keep out Mbappe on the stroke of half-time. French frustration was just beginning to show when Mbappe ran on to Dembele's slide-rule pass, wrong-footed Viktor Gyokeres with a stepover, and fired into the far corner. Sweden should have drawn level immediately, but Elliot Stroud blazed over after the ball fell to him 12 yards from goal. That was the peak of Sweden's resistance, as eight minutes into the second half Bradley Barcola ran on to a cute Olise pass and rifled the ball in at the near post. Dembele drew another fine save from Widell Zetterstrom with a trademark curling shot from the right, before the Derby County keeper denied Olise one-on-one. Mbappe got his second in the 74th minute when he ran onto another fine Olise pass and curled the ball past Widell Zetterstrom. Gyokeres should have scored a late consolation after being played through on goal, but the Arsenal striker was denied by France keeper Mike Maignan.

Saturday, 4 July 2026 - Paraguay 0 France 1 - World Cup favourites France were made to sweat to book their quarter-final place but Kylian Mbappe's second-half penalty proved enough to help them past a resolute Paraguay in Philadelphia. Paraguay limited the two-time winners to very few chances until substitute Desire Doue was fouled inside the box by Brighton's Diego Gomez and referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot after a Video Assistant Referee  intervention. Mbappe took the penalty and sent Orlando Gill the wrong way to ensure France's progress, as he drew level with Argentina great Lionel Messi on seven goals in the tournament's Golden Boot race. The last-16 tie kicked off in extreme heat, with temperatures soaring to 38C, but it appeared to be no deterrent for France, who dominated possession from the start. However, the Paraguay defence proved difficult to break down and that frustration was evident in the 36th minute when Mbappe lashed out after a foul on him by Andres Cubas. Gustavo Alfaro's side, who upset Germany on penalties in the last 32, defended resolutely during a cagey first half that ended goalless and with neither side registering a shot on target. France showed greater urgency after the break and finally forced Gill into a save through Manu Kone's effort from distance in the 54th minute - their first on target. But it was not until Doue replaced Bradley Barcola on the left wing that Les Bleus found the moment they had been searching for. The 21-year-old Paris St-Germain forward drove into the box four minutes after coming on and danced past a Paraguay defender before Gomez stuck out a leg to bring him down, allowing Mbappe to seal France's place among the final eight.

Monday, 6 July 2026 - Kylian Mbappe has condemned a Paraguayan senator as "despicable" and unworthy of her position after she made a number of racist remarks mocking his origin and education. Celeste Amarilla, of Paraguay's Liberal Radical Party, Amarilla made a series of posts calling Mbappe a “brute”, a “colonised Cameroonian” and said as a child, he “sucked on coconuts, and the most educated creatures he ever listened to were chimpanzees.” Mbappe responded, external: "Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition. Through your recklessness and your brazen racism, the entire world has already forgotten the journey and the historic effort that your players accomplished during this World Cup, making way for an incompetent woman who gives the worst possible image of her country. I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world." The FFF has announced plans to file ⁠criminal charges, describing Amarilla's remarks as "utterly abhorrent and unacceptable".

Thursday, 9 July 2026 - France 2 Morocco 0 - Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of this World Cup to make up for an earlier missed penalty as France proved too good for Morocco and moved into the semi-finals. Mbappe won the first-half penalty when he was fouled by Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, but his poorly hit spot-kick was comfortably saved by Yassine Bounou. The Real Madrid striker made amends in the 60th minute with a superb curling effort from just inside the penalty area to give France a deserved lead. Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele doubled France's advantage six minutes later when he was allowed to run at the Morocco defence, with his low strike finding the net despite Bounou getting a hand to the ball. Mbappe's goal moves him level with Argentina's Lionel Messi at this tournament, although the Frenchman is now top in the race for the Golden Boot as he has registered more assists than his former Paris St-Germain team-mate.

Tuesday, 14 July 2026 - France 0 Spain 2 - Spain are through to the World Cup final after surprising favourites France with a convincing semi-final victory at Dallas Stadium. Luis de la Fuente's side blunted a France team brimming with attacking talent, controlled a game of few chances and will deservedly take their place in Sunday's showpiece thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first half after a lapse from France left-back Lucas Digne resulted in him giving forward Lamine Yamal an unceremonious wallop as he tried to clear the ball. The spot-kick was confidently thumped into the corner by Oyarzabal and with a lead to defend, Spain's control of the match only grew. After a below-par first-half, France were expected to come out fighting but it was an increasingly confident Spain who seized the upper hand once more as Porro played a lovely one-two with Dani Olmo before slotting in the second at the near post. With a little more than half an hour to save themselves, France were again thwarted in their attempts to break down an incredibly disciplined Spain outfit, who have conceded just once all tournament. Spain remained calm, composed and full of class to the end and, ultimately, saw the game out comfortably. For France, their hopes of making a third final in succession are over as they go into Saturday's third-place play-off, which will represent the end of an era - with coach Didier Deschamps departing at the end of the tournament after 14 years at the helm.

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CG