{"id":1433255,"date":"2026-02-13T21:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1433255"},"modified":"2026-02-13T22:14:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:14:49","slug":"world-cup-analysis-why-france-can-regain-their-crown-and-complete-hat-trick-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/world-cup-analysis-why-france-can-regain-their-crown-and-complete-hat-trick-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Analysis: Why France can regain their crown and complete hat-trick in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Finalists at the last two World Cups, France will be looking to don the crown once again in 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>In this article, we&#8217;ll cover<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-three-in-a-row\" data-level=\"2\">Three in a row?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-endless-attacking-quality\" data-level=\"2\">Endless attacking quality<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-mbappe-eyeing-goalscoring-record\" data-level=\"2\">Mbappe eyeing goalscoring record<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-impressive-knockout-record\" data-level=\"2\">Impressive knockout record<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-three-in-a-row\">Three in a row?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to the form book, France certainly top it across the two most recent editions of the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After lifting the trophy for a second time in 2018, Didier Deschamps&#8217; side were a penalty shootout away from defending their crown four years later, agonisingly losing out to Lionel Messi&#8217;s Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That defeat in Lusail will have made Les Bleus all the more determined to complete a hat-trick of World Cup triumphs this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unbeaten in their last seven matches since losing 5-4 to Spain in their epic Nations League semi-final, France certainly have momentum on their side as they look to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-endless-attacking-quality\">Endless attacking quality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the toughest decisions Deschamps will face this summer is choosing a front three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Skipper Kylian Mbappe is a guaranteed starter, but who will join him from an envious list of options?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ballon d&#8217;Or winner Ousmane Dembele should also be nailed on, though Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola will be pushing them all the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same can be said for the likes of Michael Olise, Randal Kolo Muani and Rayan Cherki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, at the spearhead of the attack, pacey Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike could lead the line, unless Deschamps prefers the strength of Inter forward Marcus Thuram &#8211; son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whoever Deschamps goes with, said attacking trio will have to be on their game from the start of Group I, with Erling Haaland&#8217;s Norway and newly crowned Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal providing tough early opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n    <div class=\"sq-toplist\">\n        <div class=\"sq-toplist__items\">\n\t\t\t    <div\n            class=\"sq-toplist__item\"\n            data-entity-id=\"1381364\"\n            data-offer-id=\"1381449\"\n    >\n\t\t        <div class=\"sq-toplist__item-container\">\n            <div class=\"sq-toplist__offer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/go\/sky-bet?q=gb-all-top-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-brand=\"Sky Bet\"data-placement=\"bookmaker-offers-content-toplist\" data-rating=\"9.5\" data-position=\"1\" data-placement-details=\"logo\" class=\"sq-toplist__logo\" style=\"background:#132c6c\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"89\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-300x89.webp\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"SkyBetLogo20052025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-300x89.webp 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-1024x302.webp 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-768x227.webp 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-1536x454.webp 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-400x118.webp 400w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-600x177.webp 600w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-203x60.webp 203w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-150x44.webp 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white-40x12.webp 40w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/04\/20135042\/skybet-logo-newnew-white.webp 2032w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\t\t\t\t                <div class=\"sq-toplist__offer-box\">\n                    <span class=\"sq-toplist__bookmaker\">\n                        <a href=\"\/en\/go\/sky-bet?q=gb-all-top-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-brand=\"Sky Bet\"data-placement=\"bookmaker-offers-content-toplist\" data-rating=\"9.5\" data-position=\"1\" data-placement-details=\"brand_name\">Sky Bet<\/a>                    <\/span>\n                    <span class=\"sq-toplist__offer-title is-tablet-visible\">\n                        <a href=\"\/en\/go\/sky-bet?q=gb-all-top-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-brand=\"Sky Bet\"data-placement=\"bookmaker-offers-content-toplist\" data-rating=\"9.5\" data-position=\"1\" data-placement-details=\"offer\">Bet \u00a35 Get \u00a340 In Free Bets + Ghost Leg Token<\/a>                    <\/span>\n                <\/div>\n                <span class=\"sq-toplist__offer-title is-mobile-visible\">\n                    <a href=\"\/en\/go\/sky-bet?q=gb-all-top-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-brand=\"Sky Bet\"data-placement=\"bookmaker-offers-content-toplist\" data-rating=\"9.5\" data-position=\"1\" data-placement-details=\"offer\">Bet \u00a35 Get \u00a340 In Free Bets + Ghost Leg Token<\/a>                <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"sq-toplist__buttons\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/go\/sky-bet?q=gb-all-top-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-brand=\"Sky Bet\"data-placement=\"bookmaker-offers-content-toplist\" data-rating=\"9.5\" data-position=\"1\" data-placement-details=\"cta\" class=\"sq-btn sq-btn--secondary sq-btn--full\">Claim Offer<\/a>                <div class=\"sq-rating\">\n                    <span class=\"sq-rating__text\">Our Score<\/span>\n                    <span class=\"sq-rating__value\">9.5<\/span>\n                <\/div>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/sky-bet-review\/\" class=\"sq-review-link\">\n                    <span>Read our review<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/div>\n\t\t\t        <ul class=\"sq-toplist__features\">\n                            <li class=\"sq-toplist__features-item\">Enhanced Offers<\/li>\n                            <li class=\"sq-toplist__features-item\">Request A Bet Feature<\/li>\n                            <li class=\"sq-toplist__features-item\">Vast selection of sports markets<\/li>\n                    <\/ul>\n                <\/div>\n\t\t            <div class=\"sq-toplist__item-tc\"><p>#AD 18+ New customers only. 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Place a min \u00a310 bet on Football on odds of min 1.5 (1\/2), get \u00a350 in Free Bet Builders after the qualifying bet has been settled. Rewards valid for 90 days. Only deposits via Pay by Bank, cards &amp; Apple Pay will qualify. T&amp;Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mbappe-eyeing-goalscoring-record\">Mbappe eyeing goalscoring record<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the age of 23, Mbappe had already played and scored in two World Cup finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His awesome hat-trick against Argentina made him only the second player to achieve the feat in a World Cup showpiece, after Geoff Hurst in 1966.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He is also one of five players to score in multiple World Cup finals, after Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Paul Breitner and Vava.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Winner of the Golden Boot in 2022, Mbappe now was 12 World Cup goals to his name, and another five this year would see him break Miroslav Klose&#8217;s all-time record of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still only 27, fitness depending, the Real Madrid forward probably has at least another three finals in him and, therefore, plenty of time to break that record, and maybe more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-impressive-knockout-record\">Impressive knockout record<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though they face a tough group, you would still expect France to progress to the knockout stages of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking at the draw, Deschamps&#8217; side potentially face a showdown with Germany in the last 16, should both sides progress as winners from their respective groups and last-32 ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was the Germans who defeated France the last time they failed to reach a World Cup final in 2014, with Die Nationalelf winning their last-eight clash 1-0 on the way to lifting the trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, that also represents Les Bleus&#8217; only defeat over 90 minutes in the World Cup knockout stages since 1986, with their 2006 and 2022 final losses both coming on penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That tells us it will take a special effort to stop them in their tracks in 2026, especially as the tournament comes down to the crunch stages.<\/p>\n\n\n    <div class=\"sq-articles-list\">\n                    <h2 class=\"sq-heading-line\">Latest Features<\/h2>\n                <div class=\"sq-cards\">\n                                            <article class=\"sq-card\">\n                                            <div class=\"sq-card__thumbnail\">\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/stat-spotlight-premier-league-gameweek-1\/\" class=\"sq-thumbnail\">\n                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/25164408\/predictions_article-16x9-10-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" 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class=\"sq-card__label\">1 day ago<\/time>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/article>\n                                            <article class=\"sq-card\">\n                                            <div class=\"sq-card__thumbnail\">\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/premier-league-pfa-player-of-the-year-odds\/\" class=\"sq-thumbnail\">\n                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09145927\/DeclanRice0902026_ID3DMXJC7-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>                            <\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"sq-card__content\">\n                        <div class=\"sq-card__meta\">\n                            <span class=\"sq-card__label\">Features<\/span>\n                       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href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-man-city-vs-bournemouth-23-08-26\/\" class=\"sq-thumbnail\">\n                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/23161508\/3FB8WK5-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Man City vs Bournemouth stats and analysis: Cherki changes the game to save Maresca blushes\" \/>                            <\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"sq-card__content\">\n                        <div class=\"sq-card__meta\">\n                            <span class=\"sq-card__label\">Features<\/span>\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-man-city-vs-bournemouth-23-08-26\/\" class=\"sq-card__title\">\n                                <h2 class=\"sq-card__title-text\">\n                                    Man City vs Bournemouth stats and analysis: Cherki changes the game to spare Maresca blushes                                <\/h2>\n                            <\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"sq-card__excerpt\">\n                                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/author\/chris-smith\/\" class=\"sq-card__link\">\n                                    Chris Jones                                <\/a>\n                                                        <time class=\"sq-card__label\">2 days ago<\/time>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/article>\n                                            <article class=\"sq-card\">\n                                            <div class=\"sq-card__thumbnail\">\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-how-arsenal-are-turning-up-set-piece-routines\/\" class=\"sq-thumbnail\">\n                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/22163332\/Arteta220826_ID3FAX7G5-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>                            <\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"sq-card__content\">\n                        <div class=\"sq-card__meta\">\n                            <span class=\"sq-card__label\">Features<\/span>\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-how-arsenal-are-turning-up-set-piece-routines\/\" class=\"sq-card__title\">\n                                <h2 class=\"sq-card__title-text\">\n                                    How Arsenal are turning it up a notch with their set-piece routines                                <\/h2>\n                            <\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"sq-card__excerpt\">\n                                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/author\/guilhermemirra\/\" class=\"sq-card__link\">\n                                    Guilherme Mirra                                <\/a>\n                                                        <time class=\"sq-card__label\">2 days ago<\/time>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/article>\n                    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finalists at the last two World Cups, France will be looking to don the crown once again in 2026. Three in a row? When it comes to the form book, France certainly top it across the two most recent editions of the World Cup. After lifting the trophy for a second time in 2018, Didier&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":404,"featured_media":1433256,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"World Cup Analysis: Why France can regain their crown in 2026","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"France are desperate to regain the World Cup crown they lost in heartbreaking fashion four years ago in Qatar.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1433255","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>World Cup Analysis: Why France can regain their crown in 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"France are desperate to regain the World 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A football fan, he also has a strong interest in snooker, tennis and darts.","url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/author\/jonathandavies\/"}]}},"yoast_title":"World Cup Analysis: Why France can regain their crown in 2026","yoast_description":"France are desperate to regain the World Cup crown they lost in heartbreaking fashion four years ago in Qatar.","yoast_keyword":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1433255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/features"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1433255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1433256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433255"},{"taxonomy":"features-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features-category?post=1433255"},{"taxonomy":"squawka-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/squawka-category?post=1433255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}