Inside France's World Cup roster 2026: Mbappe, Dembele set to lead squad list for Deschamps' final bid for glory

Inside France's World Cup roster 2026: Mbappe, Dembele set to lead squad list for Deschamps' final bid for glory originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

After winning their second title in 2018 and falling agonisingly short in the 2022 final, France are expected to go deep in this summer's World Cup.

Long-serving head coach Didier Deschamps will step down after a fourth and final World Cup in charge of Les Bleus and has a typically talent-stacked group of players at his disposal.

Kylian Mbappe can leave a turbulent season at Real Madrid behind to enjoy a tournament that always seems to bring the best out of him. The star forward scored in the final victory over Croatia in Russia, while he became the second man in World Cup history to score a final hat-trick before Argentina prevailed on penalties in Qatar.

Mbappe has a lavishly gifted supporting cast, led by Paris Saint-Germain's 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele.

The Sporting News has all the key details on France's World Cup squad below.

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France World Cup predicted roster 2026

Deschamps will name his final squad on May 14.

Teams had until Monday, May 11 to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which they are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.

Below is a projected roster. The final list of players will be updated below once the announcement is made. Caps and stats are correct as of May 12.

Pos

Name

Club

Caps

Lucas Chevalier

Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France)

Mike Maignan

AC Milan (Serie A, Italy)

Brice Samba

Rennes (Ligue 1, France)

DEF

Malo Gusto

Chelsea (Premier League, England)

DEF

Jules Koundé

Barcelona (La Liga, Spain)

DEF

Dayot Upamecano

Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Germany)

DEF

Ibrahima Konaté

Liverpool (Premier League, England)

DEF

William Saliba

Arsenal (Premier League, England)

DEF

Lucas Hernandez

Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France)

DEF

Theo Hernandez

Al-Hilal (Pro League, Saudi Arabia)

DEF

Lucas Digne

Aston Villa (Premier League, England)

MID

Aurélien Tchouaméni

Real Madrid (La Liga, Spain)

MID

Eduardo Camavinga

Real Madrid (La Liga, Spain)

MID

Adrien Rabiot

AC Milan (Serie A, Italy)

MID

Manu Koné

AS Roma (Serie A, Italy)

MID

N'Golo Kanté

Al-Ittihad (Pro League, Saudi Arabia)

MID

Warren Zaïre-Emery

Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France)

MID

Kephren Thuram

Juventus (Serie A, Italy)

FWD

Désiré Doué

Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France)

FWD

Ousmane Dembélé

Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France)

FWD

Michael Olise

Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Germany)

FWD

Bradley Barcola

Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France)

FWD

Rayan Cherki

Manchester City (Premier League, England)

FWD

Maghnes Akliouche

Monaco (Ligue 1, France)

FWD

Kylian Mbappé

Real Madrid (La Liga, Spain)

FWD

Jean-Philippe Mateta

Crystal Palace (Premier League, England)

France World Cup qualifying results

France finished in first place in UEFA Group D, securing their automatic place in the draw in December by beating Slovakia. France had 16 points from six games and a six-point advantage over Ukraine.

France World Cup history

France has won the World Cup twice, first in 1998, then again in 2018.

World Cups appearances: 16
Best finish: Winners (1998, 2018)
All-time goals scored: 136
All-time goals conceded: 85
All-time record (W-L-D): 39-14-20
- Games: 73 GP (39 W, 14 D, 20 L)
- Goal differential: +51 (136 GS, 85 GA)

France World Cup squad analysis

France boast arguably the greatest depth of elite quality of any of the tournament favourites.

Centre-backs William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano are each arguably coming off the seasons of their career at club level.

Veterans N'Golo Kante and Adrien Rabiot remain in the frame in midfield alongside Real Madrid duo Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni.

The attack is without Antoine Griezmann, a majestic talisman of the Deschamps era, who has now retired from international football. However, Mbappe, Michael Olise and Dembele — along with a formidable array of alternative options — will make up the most feared forward line at the World Cup.

France injuries ahead of World Cup

France's most notable absentee is Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike.

Despite a disappointing campaign for Arne Slot's side overall, Ekitike has enjoyed an impressive debut season in England, scoring 17 goals in 45 appearances across competitions.

But a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League brought his season to an abrupt halt and ended his World Cup dream.

At 23, Ekitike's time should come again and France are amply stacked in forward areas.

France players to watch at World Cup

Olise has been a revelation since joining Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace in 2024, firmly establishing himself as one of the best wingers in world football.

A limp showing in Bayern's second leg loss to PSG in the Champions League semifinals quelled Ballon d'Or talk, but that's nothing a strong World Cup can't fix.

The battle to start as one of France's support attackers is set to be fierce, but Rayan Cherki's off-the-cuff playmaking talents could provide an important point of difference. At times during his debut season at Manchester City, Cherki has been the most dazzling player in the Premier League.

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Who is France coach at the World Cup?

Deschamps is the longest-serving coach at this summer's World Cup, having taken over almost a quarter if a century ago in 2012. This will be his fourth World Cup at the helm after 2014, 2018 and 2022. He has steered France to the past two finals.

An exemplary defensive midfielder during his playing day, Deschamps captained France to glory at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. As such, he is one of his country's most esteemed footballing figures.

Throughout his time in charge of France, Deschamps has invited regular criticism for perceived conservative tactics when he has such an enviable array of attacking players. He would love another major tournament success to end those debates once and for all.

Can France replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According to the official tournament rules (page 32), "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."

France World Cup history

France have won the World Cup twice, with Deschamps integral to both successes.

The Juventus midfielder was the Les Bleus captain when they demolished Brazil 3-0 on an emotional night in Paris in 1998. Zinedine Zidane scored twice in the first half before Emmanuel Petit sealed victory.

Twenty years later, Deschamps was the head coach as France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow. After an unfortunate Mario Mandzukic own goal (the Croatia striker later scored at the other end following an error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris), Griezmann scored from the penalty spot. Paul Pogba and Mbappe made sure of glory with fine second-half strikes.

France have also been runners-up on two occasions, suffering penalty shootout defeats to Italy and Argetina in 2006 and 2018 respectively.

Current FIFA World Ranking: No. 1 (March 2026)
World Cup titles: 2 (1998, 2018)
World Cup appearances (last): 16 (Qatar 2022)
How France qualified, W-L-D: UEFA Group D winners, 5-1-0
World Cup record:
- Games: 73 GP (39 W, 14 D, 20 L)
- Goal difference: +51 (136 GS, 85 GA)