As French author Andre Gide famously suggested well over a century ago, when it comes to making decisions, you simply cannot please everyone. This is the reality that Didier Deschamps will have to wrestle with over the coming months in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup 2026™. When shaping his frontline, the former midfielder may have to make more painful decisions than any of his counterparts set to lead sides out at the North American showpiece.
“There’s a whole host of players in with a shot of making the squad,” he admitted last November, after having seen his side punch their ticket to the tournament. “If everyone is fit, which I desperately hope they will be, it’ll be particularly difficult to choose. I have options aplenty, but there are some big choices to be made.”
While the situation may appear to be more straightforward in goal, defence or even midfield, France’s forward line could give Deschamps and his staff a real headache. While Les Bleus have historically fielded formidable attacks at the FIFA World Cup™, the current crop of talent is quite simply exceptional.
With four months until the eagerly anticipated kick-off, FIFA takes a deep dive into the selection of sharpshooters vying to bag a berth in the final squad.
The locks
As captain and the focal point of the French attack, Kylian Mbappe is assured of his place. How could you even consider leaving him out? The adidas Golden Boot recipient at Qatar 2022 has carried Real Madrid this season, registering 38 goals in 31 appearances at the time of writing.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Bondy-born star will be joined at the global showpiece by The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2025 winner, Ousmane Dembele. After an injury-ravaged start to the current campaign, the former Barcelona winger has been firing on all cylinders since the turn of the year, notching seven goals and three assists in ten matches. The jet-heeled attacker is highly likely to link up with Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Desire Doue at international football’s premier event. Having also had to contend with his fair share of injuries, the starlet, who scooped the FIFA Young Player Award gong at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, is fast becoming a mainstay of the senior national-team squad.
Meanwhile, Michael Olise has dazzled observers and defenders alike in the Bundesliga, racking up 22 goals and 36 assists in 55 outings to all but secure his place on the plane. It could well be a similar story for Rayan Cherki. If Pep Guardiola continues to carefully manage his playing time during this, his maiden season at Manchester City, the former Lyon livewire’s raw talent and ability to transform the whole complexion of a match in the blink of an eye will be hard for Deschamps to overlook.
In the mix
This time last year, Bradley Barcola was wreaking havoc in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League, and would have been a shoo-in alongside Mbappe, Dembele and Co. While he remains a strong candidate to make his World Cup bow, the Lyon-born flanker has been less clinical in front of goal of late. His profligacy could ultimately see him edged out by more lethal compatriots, with the likes of Hugo Ekitike being a prime example.
Having broken into the France set-up in the early stages of this season to little fanfare, the erstwhile PSG frontman has swiftly established himself as a fans’ favourite at Anfield. Despite Liverpool enduring a topsy-turvy campaign, the Reims academy product has hit the ground running with ten goals in 23 Premier League outings. The towering striker’s unique all-round prowess could see him steal a yard over the other hopefuls in the race to make the final cut.
Ekitike’s main competition could well come from a pair of potent poachers who ply their trade for the Milan giants. Marcus Thuram featured at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, contributing to Les Bleus’ remarkable fightback in the final against Argentina, in which the French ultimately suffered shoot-out heartbreak following a captivating 3-3 draw.
A key figure at Inter Milan, his physical presence and finishing ability have played a major role in what is proving to be a stellar season for the Champions League runners-up. The fact that Thuram has already had a taste of World Cup action may well work in his favour.
On the other side of the Milan divide, Christopher Nkunku is highly rated by Deschamps and has been finding the net with increasing regularity for the Rossoneri now that he appears to have fully adapted to Italian football. “Having Nkunku is a big plus for France,” explained the coach back in 2023. “His technical ability and eye for goal mean that he can play anywhere across the frontline. What’s more, his work ethic is outstanding.”
If the 28-year-old can maintain his rich vein of form, he will be in with a great chance of making amends for missing the previous instalment of FIFA’s flagship men’s event after he suffered a ruptured knee ligament just days before the action got under way on Qatari soil.
Needing to impress
Called up as an 11th-hour replacement to fill in for none other than Nkunku last time round, Randal Kolo Muani has his work cut out if he is to grace a second World Cup on the spin, especially as the Tottenham forward is yet to open his Premier League account for the season in 17 appearances, leaving him well adrift of Jean-Philippe Mateta in the pecking order.
The Crystal Palace marksman netted twice in three World Cup qualifying appearances last October and November, but his form has suffered a dip of late, with injuries doing little to help his cause. Mateta, who brings something a little different to the table, has impressed so far in his embryonic national-team career, finishing as top goalscorer as France secured silver at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024.
Kingsley Coman has been a reliable performer for Les Bleus over the past decade, but Deschamps has called on him less regularly in the last two years. However, an eye-catching end to the season with Saudi outfit Al Nassr could propel the 29-year-old into the reckoning.
The line-up of contenders is rounded off by a couple of Ligue 1 aces who could put themselves firmly into the equation with a strong finish to the season. A World Cup winner in 2018, Florian Thauvin is enjoying a wonderful campaign with title-chasing Lens and being called up in the last two international windows in October and November may work in his favour. The same applies to Maghnes Akliouche. However, the silky schemer, who earned his first cap on 5 December, has been a victim of Monaco’s struggles.
Ultimately, the number of forwards that Deschamps opts to include will influence each candidate’s prospects of strutting their stuff on North American soil. Historically, the man who tasted global glory as a player in 1998 and as a coach in 2018 has always managed to strike the perfect balance within his squads, and he is sure to resist the temptation to flood his ranks with attacking options this time round.
“If we were to line up with just attackers, it wouldn’t make us a more clinical side,” he stressed on the eve of the semi-final showdown against Spain at UEFA EURO 2024. There is little to suggest that the French tactician’s thinking has changed too dramatically in the last two years, but only time will tell.
