Ominous France Show Potential to be Les Bleus' Greatest

World Cup 2026: 'Unbelievable' France aim to eclipse previous glories
France, winners of the World Cups in 1998 and 2018, have shown they are contenders to create another special team as they aim for the title in 2026. They demonstrated their strength with a decisive 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday, making them the first nation to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Under the management of Didier Deschamps, who is in his last tournament, there is speculation that this might be the strongest iteration of Les Bleus to date.

If France lifts the trophy on July 19, those claims will gain further credibility, as former midfielder Patrick Vieira remarked that the current squad is on the verge of greatness. Speaking on ITV Sport, Vieira said: "We’re talking about a generation of players, and when you look at the squad and the attacking players, it is maybe one of the best, because you have so many players - it is so unbelievable."

France's win in Boston featured two goals scored within a six-minute span in the second half, starting with Kylian Mbappe’s goal, quickly followed by a strike from Ousmane Dembele, the holder of the Ballon d'Or. These strikes brought France's total to 16 goals in the tournament, a leading tally among competing teams, although other quarter-final matches were still pending. Mbappe’s goal was his eighth of the tournament, tying him with Lionel Messi of Argentina for the top scorer spot, with Mbappe leading the race for the Golden Boot due to his additional assists. Dembele, having netted five goals in this tournament, placed France as one of only two teams in the last 50 years to have two players score five or more goals in the same World Cup, joining the ranks of Brazil in 2002.

Former Scotland striker Pat Nevin praised France on BBC Radio 5 Live, stating, "France are the best, most skilful, most dangerous attacking team in the tournament. They have more than one threat. They have two, three, four that are capable."

Deschamps has been at the helm of the French team since 2012, seeing them through a World Cup victory in 2018 and a loss to Argentina in the 2022 final. Les Bleus also suffered defeats against Portugal in the 2016 European Championship final and Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2024. France currently stood third in the world rankings as they entered this tournament, trailing behind Argentina and Spain.

With Spain progressing through the tournament, they could be potential opponents for France in the semi-finals on Tuesday, following their quarter-final match against Belgium.

Former England striker Ian Wright labeled Deschamps’ squad as "one of the most clear favourites for a World Cup tournament I have ever seen." Following their commanding win against Morocco, where France recorded 22 attempts compared to Morocco's five, Wright maintained a sense of wonder regarding their nearly flawless gameplay.

As they await the outcomes of the other quarter-finals, France sits just two victories away from their third world title. However, Nevin cautioned the team against complacency, noting that even minor weaknesses have surfaced at times.

"In reality, perhaps the only team that can stop them is themselves by not playing at their best," Nevin warned.