Published on 6/23/2026
The French national team continued to confirm its position among the top international teams after ensuring its qualification to the knockout rounds of the 2026 World Cup, maintaining its presence in the knockout stages of major tournaments for the eighth time in a row, in a series that is surpassed only by the Argentine national team, which has reached this round in 14 consecutive editions, including the current edition.
The “Roosters” continue to provide consistent levels under the leadership of coach Didier Deschamps, as the French team succeeded in winning its first two matches in the group stage in each of the four World Cup editions that it played under his supervision, an achievement greater than that achieved by all previous French coaches combined, who were satisfied with only seven victories during 22 matches in this stage of the tournament.
Deschamps continues to write numbers
The numbers also confirm France’s strength in major tournaments during Deschamps’ era, as the team lost only one match out of 20 matches it played in the group stage of the World Cup and European Nations Cup, compared to 12 victories and 7 draws, and that defeat was against Tunisia with a score of 1-0 in the World Cup in 2022.
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Iraq and the fifth loss
On the other hand, the Iraqi national team continued its suffering in the World Cup finals, after suffering its fifth loss in five matches it played in the tournament, becoming the first Asian team to lose its first five matches in the history of the World Cup. This negative record is surpassed only by the El Salvador national team, which lost its first six matches in the tournament.
Mbappe threatens Messi
On the individual level, Kylian Mbappe continued to strengthen his position among the World Cup legends, after raising his tally to 16 goals in the history of his participation in the World Cup after scoring two new goals, becoming the closest competitor to Argentine Lionel Messi, who currently has the highest number with 18 goals.
Mbappe also scored for the sixth time two or more goals in one match in the World Cup finals, a number that no other player has achieved in the history of the tournament. The importance of this achievement increased because it was achieved in the French star’s 100th match with the national team, during which he also raised his international tally to 60 goals.
The statistics indicate a noticeable development in the style of play of the French national team captain, as two of the last three goals he scored with his country came from outside the penalty area, noting that he had scored only three goals from outside the area during the first 57 international matches in his career.
Olissi is the king of passes and Dembélé breaks the knot
The match also witnessed the brilliance of Michael Olise, who continued to perform at exceptional levels after raising his tally to three assists in his first two World Cup matches, a number greater than what he provided during his first 17 international matches with the French national team.
With this achievement, Olissi became the third French player in the twenty-first century to provide two assists in one World Cup match, after Karim Benzema against Switzerland in the 2014 edition, and Antoine Griezmann against England in the 2022 World Cup.
For his part, Ousmane Dembele succeeded in ending his goal drought in major tournaments by scoring his first goals in the World Cup or European Championship, in his twentieth match in these competitions (13 matches in the World Cup and 7 matches in the Euro), after he was the European striker who played the most matches in major tournaments without scoring any goal.
