Right. I need to talk about France.
Not because I particularly enjoy it. Not because I want to spend my Sunday convincing myself that the most annoyingly talented squad in world football is even better than I thought. But because I watched them take apart Colombia today — with a completely different eleven from Thursday — and I genuinely felt a little sick at how good they are.
Let me walk you through this international window, because these two games in America told us everything we need to know about where Les Bleus are heading this summer.
Thursday: Brazil 1–2 France
Let’s start with the one that made the whole world sit up.
Brazil. In Boston. A proper heavyweight test, the kind you don’t get in qualifying. And France just won. Comfortably in the end.
This is the result that had football Twitter losing its mind for 48 hours straight and honestly — fair enough. You beat Brazil in a competitive friendly and you’re sending a message. France sent it loud and clear.
Seven wins and one draw in their last eight matches. Averaging more than two goals per game in that run. That is the form they’re carrying into a World Cup.
Today: Colombia 1–3 France — A Star Is Born
And then Deschamps did something that made my jaw drop a little.
He changed every single outfield player. The entire starting eleven. And his second string still went to Northwest Stadium in Maryland and took Colombia — a side ranked 13th in the world who finished third in South American qualifying — completely apart.
A 20-year-old kid called Désiré Doué opened the scoring in the 29th minute, finishing calmly from the centre of the box with the ball nestling right against the post. First senior goal for France. On this stage. Against a proper international side. Not a flinch in sight.
Then Marcus Thuram made it two before halftime. Maghnes Akliouche delivered a perfectly weighted cross from the right and Thuram rose above the entire Colombian defence to power a header straight through the middle of the goal. Dominant. Physical. Unstoppable.
And then Doué got his second eleven minutes into the second half. Thuram broke down the right on the counter, played it low across the box, and Doué arrived at the far post and swept it home without breaking stride. A brace. On his senior debut. The kid is 20 years old.
Colombia pulled one back late through Campaz — a decent enough finish into the top corner — but by then France had already brought Mbappé and Olise off the bench. Off the bench. In a game they were already winning comfortably. That is the most casually devastating flex I’ve seen in a long time.
What The Group Stage Looks Like
France land in Group I. Their fixtures are:
June 16 — France vs Senegal, New York/New Jersey Stadium June 20 — France vs Bolivia or Iraq (intercontinental playoff winner), Philadelphia June 26 — Norway vs France, Boston
Now. Senegal first is actually a game with history — and not comfortable history either. Anyone who remembers 2002 knows exactly what I’m talking about. Senegal beat defending champions France on the opening day of that World Cup in one of the biggest upsets the tournament has ever seen. Senegal will absolutely have that in the back of their minds going into June 16. France need to be switched on from minute one.
The middle game against either Bolivia or Iraq is the one where France are expected to take maximum points and they absolutely should.
But the one I’m circling? June 26. France vs Norway in Boston.
Mbappé vs Haaland. The two best forwards on the planet potentially on the same pitch at the same time in a World Cup group stage match. I genuinely don’t know how I’m going to handle watching that game. The football gods did not have to do this to us but here we are.
The Depth Nobody Wants To Talk About
Here’s what actually separates France from every other contender right now.
Today, Deschamps rested Mbappé, Dembélé, Griezmann, and the entire first-choice midfield. Kanté captained a second-string side — on his 35th birthday, by the way, which is the kind of detail that makes you smile — and they still took apart a top-15 nation with a 20-year-old playing the starring role.
That is not normal. No other squad in this tournament can do that. Spain are close. Germany have Wirtz. England have… Bellingham and hope. But France have entire squads within their squad and every single one of them can hurt you.
The One Thing That Could Stop Them
Since I’m always honest on here — the only thing that genuinely concerns me about France is France themselves.
The dressing room noise that surrounded the 2022 World Cup. The moments where they almost threw away a final from two goals up in the last ten minutes against Argentina. The political complexity that seems to follow this squad to every major tournament regardless of how good the football is.
The talent has never been the question with France. It never is. The question is always whether they hold it together when the tournament gets tight and uncomfortable and the margins shrink to almost nothing. In the knockout rounds. When one mistake ends everything.
But right now? In this window? I saw a squad that looks settled, deep, and genuinely hungry. Doué is going to be a story of this tournament. Thuram is the most complete centre forward in the world right now. And Mbappé is healthy, motivated, and 74 days away from the biggest stage of his career.
My Final Thought
The World Cup starts in 74 days. France are ready now.
Two games on American soil. Two different teams. Brazil and Colombia both taken care of. Deschamps wanted his players to feel these stadiums, these pitches, these atmospheres before June. Mission accomplished.
God help everyone else.
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