The 2026 World Cup is fast approaching. From June 11 to July 19, 48 nations will converge on the American continent to compete in the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with France ambitious to win a third world title.
For his last competition with the Blues, Didier Deschamps will have to deal with players in form and make strong choices. And Karim Benzema should miss this universal meeting, the coach having already decided on his offensive selection for Boston.
Thus, Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki are guaranteed to make the trip. Two places remain to be filled, Hugo Ekitike and Marcus Thuram being favorites for the moment.
Benzema wants to play the World Cup
In an interview with L’Équipe in December, Karim Benzema did not close the door to a return to Blue. “Who doesn’t want to play in the World Cup? If you tell me to go to the French team to play in a World Cup and I tell you no, I’m a liar.”he declared.
One possibility remains: the integration of an offensive ninth into the list. However, a return seems unlikely, especially against recently called up players, such as Randal Kolo Muani, Florian Thauvin, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Christopher Nkunku, Kingsley Coman or Maghnes Akliouche, who have a head start on the new Al-Hilal striker.
