France is no longer competing. It is dominating

With a “¡Vamos!” in perfect Spanish, several members of their delegation celebrated with pride and joy their advancement to the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup after defeating Morocco (2-0) with less difficulty than expected before the referee blew the whistle to start the match. This victory not only ensures that France will be among the final four teams in a World Cup for the eighth time in its history and for the third consecutive time; it also cements its status as the best national team in the world today.

The current strong French squad began to take shape after the 2012 European Championship, which was co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. "Les Bleus" suffered yet another setback, as they had been doing ever since finishing as runners-up at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The French Football Federation (FFF), under pressure and eager to turn around a precarious situation, decided to part ways with a legend like Laurent Blanc and hand the reins to Didier Deschamps.

The FFF hit the nail on the head: it couldn’t have made a better decision. Little by little, season by season, tournament by tournament, Deschamps built a roster and developed a playing philosophy that has made France the team everyone fears, the team to beat. In his 14 years at the helm, the coach has led his country to two titles (the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2020–2021 UEFA Nations League), in addition to reaching two other finals (the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2016 European Championship in France) and positioned "Les Bleus" as the national team with the highest FIFA ranking.

France under Deschamps’ leadership has managed to rebuild itself over time. Every time a regular player stepped aside for whatever reason, the coach managed to bring in a replacement who fit in perfectly, keeping intact the team’s philosophy of dominating any opponent. He has created a masterpiece.

In the 2026 World Cup, Deschamps’ France has once again activated its “devastating team” mode, blending players who shine both individually and collectively and who are at the peak of their careers—such as Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Aurélien Tchouaméni—with others who, despite their youth and inexperience, masterfully make up for the stars’ absence when they’re out—such as Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki and Warren Zaïre-Emery.

Whether or not they win the title this time around—it would be the third in their trophy case—they are, at this moment, the best national team on the planet. It is a team that has stopped competing; it is simply dominating.