🇫🇷 France

Deschamps typically lines up in a 4-3-3, with Aurélien Tchouaméni anchoring deep and N'Golo Kanté providing relentless press-recovery around him. Warren Zaïre-Emery or Manu Koné adds vertical mobility as the third midfielder. Wide forwards Dembélé and Olise cut inside, freeing Malo Gusto and Theo Hernández to overlap. France defend compactly and transition at devastating speed through Mbappé.

Watch Kylian Mbappé for the moments that stop tournaments dead — his acceleration and finishing at Real Madrid have only sharpened since his 2018 winner's medal. Ousmane Dembélé at PSG has reinvented himself as a creator, leading Ligue 1 in assists, while Michael Olise's diagonal runs and left-footed strikes at Bayern Munich make him the most exciting wildcard in the squad.

France's depth at every position is unmatched in this tournament — William Saliba and Ibrahima Konaté form one of the most physically dominant centre-back pairings in the world. The front three's combined pace is a structural problem for any defence, and Kanté's return to fitness adds a press-resistance engine few nations can replicate.

Deschamps has occasionally been too conservative, sacrificing Dembélé's creativity for defensive width. The left-back position carries risk with Theo Hernández now at Al Hilal and no longer playing at the highest European club level. Converting dominance into goals against deep defensive blocks has also been a recurring issue, as the 2022 group stage showed.