There is no doubt that the France national team, led by Kylian Mbappé and featuring a squad full of world-class talent, is one of the top favorites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, Didier Deschamps‘ side will have to break two historic World Cup curses that weigh heavily on favorites.
A cursed ranking?
After being confirmed as the best team in the world in the FIFA Ranking (surpassing Spain for the top spot), France automatically became one of the main World Cup contenders. Nevertheless, history is against them: since the FIFA Ranking has existed, no team that arrived as the No. 1 team in the world has ever gone on to win the World Cup.
To make matters worse, France also has the current Ballon d’Or winner in Ousmane Dembélé. Here comes the second curse: in more than 70 years of the award’s history, no team that had the Ballon d’Or winner in its squad has ever lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy.
This trend has been relentless even with the greatest legends. Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the Ballon d’Or for over 15 years, but neither of their countries won the World Cup while holding it. Curiously, Argentina lifted the title at Qatar 2022 when the reigning Ballon d’Or winner was Karim Benzema, who missed the tournament due to injury.
With only three months to go until the start of the 2026 World Cup (which begins on June 11), France arrives as the clear favorite according to betting odds and football experts. However, they will need to break these two historic World Cup curses if they want to claim their third World Cup title.
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