Placed in hat 1 thanks to its third place in the FIFA Ranking, the France team does not have much to fear from the draw for the 2026 World Cup which takes place this Friday in Washington. With the move to 48 teams, it no longer seems possible to see a “group of death” in this draw.
Inheriting Italy, if it qualifies, Morocco and Paraguay would obviously not be an easy task. But even more than the opponents, it is undoubtedly the identity of the group they will inherit that the Blues will have to be wary of.
Because the different teams will not be in the same boat during this World Cup played in three countries and three time zones. Since the United States, Mexico and Canada are guaranteed to be placed in groups D, A and B respectively, France will fall into one of the other nine groups.
Groups H and J to avoid
But while by falling into group C and finishing first in their group, Didier Deschamps’ men would have the assurance of not traveling further west than Houston throughout the course and of playing almost all their matches on the east coast – first round between Boston and Miami, round of 16 in Houston, 8e in New York, quarter in Miami and semi-final in Atlanta, it would be different if they fell into group H.
Group H will in fact be synonymous with big trips with matches in Miami, Houston and Atlanta in the first round then a sequence in Los Angeles, Dallas, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York until the final. In total, the Blues would change time zones six times, which will not help recovery. And group J is of the same ilk with a first round between Kansas City and San Francisco, nearly 2,500 km apart, and this time a journey between Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City, Atlanta and New York until the final. That is, this time, five time changes.
