France coach Didier Deschamps presented this Thursday (14) his list of 26 players for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with strikers Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé leading the French team.
Désiré Doué, from PSG, and winger Michael Olise, from Bayern Munich, also feature in the French attack for the tournament, which will be held from June 11th to July 19th.
Rayan Cherki will make his World Cup debut after completing a spectacular first season with Manchester City at the age of 22, while his Premier League rival, Arsenal’s William Saliba, will add defensive solidity to the team.
Another striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta, was called up to replace the injured Hugo Ekitike.
Full-back Lucas Hernández and midfield maestro N’Golo Kanté, along with Mbappé and Dembélé, are the only players remaining from Deschamps’ squad that won the World Cup eight years ago in Russia.
Deschamps, who will lead the French national team for the last time before retiring at the end of the tournament, left PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier out of the squad and named Robin Risser as third goalkeeper in a 26-man squad that featured few surprises.
Without Camavinga, but with Tchouameni
One of the notable absences is that of Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who was criticized after his red card in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals in Munich against Bayern Munich.
However, his Santiago Bernabéu teammate Aurélien Tchouameni will be available despite his recent involvement in a row with Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde.
France is in Group I of the World Cup, alongside Iraq, Senegal and Norway.
Deschamps had already clearly defined his group during the US tour in March.
The coach is determined to win his third title, after those in 1998 and 2018, to erase the memory of the defeat in the 2022 final to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
According to FIFA (International Football Federation) regulations, Deschamps will still have the option of replacing a player in case of injury up to 24 hours before the debut, on June 16, against Senegal, at the MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Before that, the French will play two friendlies: against Ivory Coast, on June 4, in Nantes, and against Northern Ireland, on June 8, in Lille, before heading to their concentration in Boston.
France’s World Cup squad list
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (Milan), Robin Risser (Lens) and Brice Samba (Rennes)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Théo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: N’Golo Kanté (Fenerbahçe), Manu Koné (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Milan), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG)
Attackers: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Désiré Doué (PSG), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)
