France lifted the World Cup for the first time in 1998 and again in 2018 — exactly 20 years apart. Across four finals in the span of 24 years (1998, 2006, 2018, 2022), Les Bleus have established themselves as one of the most consistent footballing nations of the modern era. No European side has appeared in more World Cup finals since the turn of the millennium, and no country on Earth has produced a deeper or more diverse talent pool over the last three decades. The story of France’s two stars is a story of immigration, identity, tactical evolution, and the recurring ability to peak when it matters most.
1998 — Zidane at home
The first title was won on home soil, but it almost did not happen at all. Coach Aimé Jacquet had been savaged by the French sporting press for years before the tournament. L’Equipe ran hostile front pages questioning his tactical conservatism and his decision to leave out flamboyant attackers like David Ginola and Eric Cantona. Jacquet ignored the noise and built a squad around balance: defensive solidity from Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly at centre-back, the tireless midfield leadership of captain Didier Deschamps, and the creative genius of Zinedine Zidane as the number 10.
Around that spine, the depth was extraordinary. Lilian Thuram — a right-back by trade — scored twice against Croatia in the semi-final, the only two international goals of his entire career, both coming at the perfect moment. Youri Djorkaeff provided invention in midfield. Emmanuel Petit, the long-haired Arsenal midfielder, offered steel and composure. Up front, a young Thierry Henry was just beginning to show the speed and finishing that would later make him France’s all-time top scorer. Fabien Barthez, shaven-headed and eccentric, commanded the goal with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.
The final against Brazil at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis was supposed to be about Ronaldo. Instead, the Brazilian striker suffered a mysterious seizure hours before kickoff, was initially left off the teamsheet, then reinstated, and played like a ghost. Zidane, freed from the burden of marking, rose to head in two Emmanuel Petit corners in the first half — the 27th and 45th minutes — his bald head meeting each delivery with precision. Petit himself completed the rout in the 93rd minute, slotting past Taffarel after a flowing counter-attack. The final score was 3–0, and more than a million people flooded the Champs-Elysees. Jacquet, vindicated beyond any argument, resigned the following day. The 1998 squad — multiracial, multicultural, drawn from the banlieues and provincial towns — was hailed as a symbol of a new France. The phrase “Black-Blanc-Beur” entered the national vocabulary.
2006 — The headbutt and what it obscured
France’s path through Germany 2006 was one of the great stories of tournament football, and it has been almost entirely eclipsed by its final 110 seconds. Zidane had retired from international duty after Euro 2004, but coach Raymond Domenech persuaded him to return for one last campaign. At 34, Zidane was no longer the explosive attacker of 1998 — he was something more dangerous: a conductor, a player who could slow a match down, speed it up, or simply take it away from the opposition with a single touch.
France stumbled through the group stage, drawing with Switzerland and South Korea before beating Togo. From the round of 16 onward, they were transformed. Zidane orchestrated a 3–1 win over Spain, dominated a quarter-final against Brazil, and produced a masterclass in the semi-final against Portugal. By the time France walked onto the pitch at the Olympiastadion in Berlin for the final against Italy, Zidane was the best player in the tournament and arguably the best player on the planet.
He scored early — a chipped Panenka penalty that kissed the underside of the crossbar and crossed the line. It was audacious, bordering on contemptuous, and it set the tone. The match settled into a tense 1–1 draw through 90 minutes and into extra time. Then, in the 110th minute, came the moment that swallowed everything else. After a verbal exchange with Italian defender Marco Materazzi — who later admitted to making an insult about Zidane’s sister — Zidane turned, walked back toward Materazzi, and drove his forehead into the Italian’s chest. The red card was inevitable. Zidane walked past the World Cup trophy on his way to the tunnel, his career ending in real time. Italy won the shootout 5–3. David Trezeguet, who had scored France’s winner in the Euro 2000 final, hit the crossbar.
The headbutt has been debated, dramatized, and even turned into a statue outside the Centre Pompidou. What it obscured was the fact that Zidane, at 34, had carried France to within minutes of a second World Cup using nothing but intelligence and will.
2018 — Deschamps completes the set
Twelve years later, Didier Deschamps — the captain in 1998 — lifted the trophy as coach, becoming only the third man in history to win a World Cup as both player and manager, after Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
Deschamps’ France were not a possession team. They were pragmatic, reactive, built on transitions and individual brilliance. The tactical setup was a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 that sat deep and invited pressure before exploding forward. N’Golo Kanté was the engine — a player who covered more ground than any midfielder in the tournament and seemed to exist in two places at once. Paul Pogba provided the creative spark from deeper positions, capable of switching play with 50-yard passes. Antoine Griezmann operated as a false nine or second striker, linking play and creating space for the wingers.
And then there was Kylian Mbappé. Nineteen years old, already a Ligue 1 champion with Monaco and a World Cup debutant with no apparent sense of the occasion’s weight. In the round of 16 against Argentina, he scored twice and announced himself to the world with a performance of blistering pace and composure. Against Belgium in the semi-final, France won 1–0 in a match of suffocating tactical discipline. In the final against Croatia in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, France won 4–2, with goals from Griezmann (a VAR penalty), Pogba (a long-range strike), and Mbappé (a low shot from the edge of the box). Mbappé’s goal made him the second teenager — after Pelé in 1958 — to score in a World Cup final. Hugo Lloris lifted the trophy; Raphaël Varane, just 25, had been imperious at centre-back throughout.
The 2018 squad was not universally loved for its style, but Deschamps had never cared about aesthetics. He cared about winning, and he built a team that did exactly that — conceding only six goals in the entire tournament.
2022 — The near-miss that became a classic
Four years later, France nearly became the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy, and the final in Lusail became one of the greatest matches in World Cup history.
France entered the tournament as defending champions but lost Pogba, Kanté, and Karim Benzema (the reigning Ballon d’Or winner) to injury before a ball was kicked. Deschamps adapted. Aurélien Tchouaméni stepped into midfield. Olivier Giroud became the starting centre-forward and broke Thierry Henry’s all-time scoring record for France during the group stage. Mbappé, now 23 and the team’s undisputed star, was devastating throughout — five goals before the final even began.
The final against Argentina on December 18, 2022, at Lusail Iconic Stadium may never be surpassed. Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi, raced to a 2–0 lead through Messi’s penalty and Ángel Di María’s sweeping finish. France were lifeless for 80 minutes — Deschamps later admitted he had rarely seen his team so flat. Then Mbappé happened. In the 80th minute, he pulled one back from the penalty spot. Ninety-seven seconds later, he volleyed an Marcus Thuram cross past Emiliano Martínez to make it 2–2. The Lusail Stadium erupted. In extra time, Messi scored again, and then Mbappé completed his hat-trick — the first in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst for England in 1966 — from the penalty spot. The match finished 3–3. Argentina won the shootout 4–2, with Kingsley Coman and Tchouaméni both missing. Mbappé won the Golden Boot with eight goals. The individual prize was no consolation.
2026 — Deschamps’ fourth and last
Didier Deschamps has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be his final tournament as France coach. It will be his fourth — a run of longevity matched by very few in the modern game. The question is whether his final act will be his crowning one.
Mbappé, now the captain and Real Madrid’s number 9, remains the obvious focal point. At 27, he is entering his physical prime and has already scored 47 goals in 85 international appearances. The midfield rebuild around Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid) and Eduardo Camavinga (also Real Madrid) gives France a young, athletic, technically excellent engine room. Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani provide options in attack. The defensive line, anchored by William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano, is younger than the Varane-Umtiti partnership of 2018 but arguably deeper in quality.
France enter the tournament as co-favourites alongside Brazil and Argentina, but they also carry a specific weight. They have already come second once with this core. Deschamps is a coach who has reached three consecutive World Cup finals (as player or manager) and has never been one to allow second chances to go to waste. The two stars on the shirt are a reminder of what France have already achieved. Whether a third is added in 2026 may depend on whether Deschamps can summon one final tournament masterclass from a squad that has the talent but must still prove it has the hunger.
