There are no shortage of talented teams left at the World Cup, but none have combined individual brilliance with collective chemistry like France.
Four matches into the tournament and Didier Deschamps’ side has emerged as the benchmark — not simply because it keeps winning, but because it attacks with a level of fluidity that few national teams have ever achieved.
The numbers are impressive enough. France has won all four of its matches, scored 13 goals and conceded only twice. It became the first nation to score at least three goals in five consecutive World Cup matches after beating Sweden 3-0 on Tuesday in the round of 32.
Statistics tell only part of the story. What separates Les Bleus from the rest of the field is the understanding shared by Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola. Together, they have become the tournament’s defining attacking quartet.
Mbappe continues to establish himself as the game’s most decisive player. His two goals against Sweden gave him six in the tournament, tying Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot lead, while moving him to 18 career World Cup goals in only 18 appearances. At just 27, he is already within one goal of Messi’s all-time World Cup record.
But France is no longer a team that depends exclusively on Mbappe. That may be Deschamps’ greatest accomplishment. For years, opponents built defensive game plans around limiting Mbappe’s space. Today, doing so often creates opportunities elsewhere. Dembele’s pace stretches defenses, Olise has developed into one of Europe’s most creative playmakers and Barcola’s intelligent movement constantly pulls defenders out of position.
Every player offers something different, yet each understands when to rotate, when to attack space and when to create passing lanes for teammates. France officially lines up in a 4-2-3-1, but formations have become increasingly irrelevant once possession begins. Mbappe drifts centrally. Dembele alternates between the wing and cutting inside. Olise frequently drops deeper to dictate the tempo, while Barcola appears wherever the defense is weakest. The constant interchange forces defenders into impossible decisions.
Many of France’s attacking players have grown together through youth national teams or have developed similar positional principles at elite clubs like Paris Saint-Germain. The familiarity shows in every combination, every overlapping run and every quick exchange around the penalty area.
France has experienced both triumph and heartbreak under its long-serving manager. The 2018 World Cup title confirmed its status as a global power, while the painful penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the 2022 final revealed how thin the margin for error can be at a World Cup. Those experiences appear to have reinforced the importance of humility inside the squad, even as outside expectations continue to grow.
“We’re very much more offensive than in 2018 and in 2022,” Mbappe told reporters. “It’s the continuity of what we started to build throughout Didier Deschamps’ tenure over the last 14 years. You can see the evolution, his personal touch, and the arrival of a lot of young talent.”
What’s next?
The road ahead, however, becomes significantly more demanding. Paraguay awaits in the round of 16 on Saturday after eliminating Germany in dramatic fashion, proving it has the defensive discipline to frustrate favored opponents. A potential quarterfinal matchup against Morocco and likely Spain in the semifinals is what awaits France as they navigate the tougher side of the bracket.
Those matches will offer a far better indication of France’s true championship credentials. So far, Les Bleus have defeated opponents ranked between 18th and 63rd in the FIFA rankings. They have controlled every game, but knockout games have a way of exposing even the slightest weaknesses.
“We always have to be more and more demanding because the opponents that we’re going to face are going to be demanding,” Deschamps said. “We need to fine-tune things and transform some negative points. Even though we didn’t have a lot of consequences, we did concede two goals.”
Every World Cup eventually produces one team that appears a step ahead of everyone else. Sometimes that advantage comes through tactical innovation. Other times, it comes through defensive solidity.
Whether these attributes prove to be enough for Les Bleus to reach a third straight World Cup final remains to be seen. But after four commanding performances, one conclusion has become increasingly difficult to dispute: The world’s deepest squad has also become its most complete team.
Clemente Lisi is the author of “The World Cup: A History of the Planet’s Biggest Sporting Event, 2026 Edition.”
