Soccer
France's potential route to the 2026 World Cup final - how they could win it
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France go into the World Cup finals as one of the favourites for the tournament, having reached the last two finals.
In 2018, they were victorious over Croatia, but fell at the last hurdle four years ago by losing to Argentina in a pulsating final in a penalty shootout.
This time around it will be Didier Deschamps' final outing as national team boss, so what route will the French be taking if they go all the way in North America?
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France's World Cup group
France have been handed one of the tougher-looking groups in the opening phase of the World Cup.
They'll once again come up against Norway, who may be at the finals for the first time since 1998, but comfortably saw off Italy to get to North America and boast one of the best strikers on the planet.
If that wasn't tricky enough, Senegal are also one of Africa's leading nations, and will face France in their opening game.
It's a repeat of the famous meeting in 2002, when Senegal beat the then-reigning world champions in the opening game of the tournament in Japan and South Korea.
| Group I |
| France |
| Senegal |
| Norway |
| Iraq |
Who could France face in the Round of 32?
If France do win their group, they'll face a third-placed team from either C/D/F/GH, which could be one of twenty different teams for Didier Deschamps.
The match would take place on 30 June in New Jersey, but it could be anyone from those five groups, including the Netherlands, USA, Belgium or Scotland.
Should the French finish second in their group, then it would be a game against most likely Ecuador or Ivory Coast in Texas.
If things go really wrong in the groups, then a third-place finish could see them facing a group winner and an early meeting with the likes of Portugal, Germany or England.
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France's potential opponents in Round of 16
If they get to the round of 16 having topped their group, then it could present a tasty-looking meeting between them and Germany in Philadelphia on Independence Day, kicking off at 5pm local time.
A second-place finish would see a repeat of the 1998 World Cup final, as it would most likely be a meeting with Brazil at MetLife Stadium.
Netherlands the most likely quarter-final opponent
Should France top the group and progress to the quarter-finals, then their most likely opponents would be the Netherlands.
The potential clash would take place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on July 9.
If the 2022 runners-up finish second in their group and reach the quarter-finals, then it would be England that awaits them in the quarter-finals.
Spain could face France in the semi-finals
If France win their group and reach the semi-finals, then they could face another former champion in Spain.
Should they meet, then the match is scheduled to take place at the Dallas Stadium in Dallas on July 14, with kick-off at 8pm BST.
The two nations have only met once in a World Cup, with France victorious in 2006, courtesy of Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, and Zinedine Zidane's goals.
Finish second in their group and reach the semi-finals and we get a repeat of the final from four years ago as France would most likely try and gain revenge on Argentina.
Could Lionel Messi break French hearts once again?
FFF
France and England could compete in the final
That match is scheduled to take place at the MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford on July 19, with kick-off set for 8pm BST.
And it could see France take on England or Spain for the first time in a showpiece final.
Who made Didier Deschamps' France squad?
Here is the France squad for the 2026 World Cup
| Shirt Number | Position | Player |
| 16 | Goalkeeper | Mike Maignan (AC Milan) |
| 23 | Goalkeeper | Robin Risser (Lens) |
| 1 | Goalkeeper | Brice Samba (Rennes) |
| 3 | Defender | Lucas Digne (Aston Villa) |
| 2 | Defender | Malo Gusto (Chelsea) |
| 21 | Defender | Lucas Hernandez (Paris St-Germain) |
| 19 | Defender | Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal) |
| 15 | Defender | Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool) |
| 26 | Defender | Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace) |
| 5 | Defender | Jules Kounde (Barcelona) |
| 17 | Defender | William Saliba (Arsenal) |
| 4 | Defender | Dayot Upamenaco (Bayern Munich) |
| 13 | Midfielder | N'Golo Kante (Fenerbache) |
| 6 | Midfielder | Manu Kone (Roma) |
| 14 | Midfielder | Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan) |
| 8 | Midfielder | Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid) |
| 18 | Midfielder | Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St-Germain) |
| 25 | Forward | Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco) |
| 12 | Forward | Bradley Barcola (Paris St-Germain) |
| 24 | Forward | Rayan Cherki (Man City) |
| 7 | Forward | Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain) |
| 20 | Forward | Desire Doue (Paris St-Germain) |
| 11 | Forward | Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) |
| 10 | Forward | Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) |
| 22 | Forward | Jean-Phillipe Mateta (Crystal Palace) |
| 9 | Forward | Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan) |
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