Didier Deschamps has left Eduardo Camavinga and Lucas Chevalier out of France’s 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, turning Thursday’s announcement into a reminder that reputation alone will not carry players to North America. France will play at the tournament from June 11-July 19 in Canada, Mexico and the United States as it chases a third World Cup title.
Camavinga, who was part of the France squad that finished runner-up at the last World Cup and came on as a substitute in the final loss to Argentina, paid the price for a season Deschamps said was disrupted by injuries and reduced playing time. “He had a difficult season for him where he played less. He also had injuries,” Deschamps said. “Because I have choices to make the squad structure also has to be even among the defenders, the midfielders and the forwards. But I understand and I imagine his enormous disappointment this evening.”
Chevalier’s omission followed a similar logic. The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper lost his starting spot to Matvei Safonov and has not played since the end of January. “The main criteria is sporting performance,” Deschamps said. “I understand that Lucas Chevalier may be disappointed, but he hasn't played for several months anymore. At the time when he could have had some playing time, he didn't get any.”
Deschamps turned to Robin Risser for the goalkeeper group, rewarding the Lens player after he won the award for the best goalkeeper earlier this week. Risser also helped make Lens the second-best defense in Ligue 1, and his inclusion underlines how strongly recent form carried weight in a squad built for a demanding campaign. France was drawn in Group I and will face Senegal, Iraq and Norway in the group stage.
The rest of the list keeps France close to the profile many expected. Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki and Maghnes Akliouche were included, while Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta got the nod over Randal Kolo Muani. Kolo Muani scored against Morocco in the semifinals at the last World Cup and had come close to becoming a national hero in the final before France lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout.
There was also room for Florian Thauvin, one of the five players nominated for Ligue 1’s player of the season, another sign that Deschamps was willing to balance big names with players carrying sharp domestic form into the tournament. The message from the coach was plain: France wants to win, but not by leaning on noise or history.
“I have ambition, and I want the players to have it too,” Deschamps said. “But I don't want us to lose our humility. I'm not going to hide and say we're not among the teams with the potential to become world champions. But there are eight, maybe 10 teams that can say that. It's not by shouting: 'We're the best, we're the strongest.'”
That is the standard France will carry into Group I and beyond. With Mbappé and Dembélé leading the attack and Deschamps favoring current performance over past service, the squad is built for a title run, but it is also built with the warning that no place is guaranteed when the World Cup begins.
