“Let’s Stop Pretending. If We Don’t Win the World Cup, It’s a Failure”

Summary: France - Northern Ireland 1:3 / Sport1

France are considered one of the leading contenders to win the 2026 World Cup. After winning in 2018 and losing the final in 2022 in Qatar, the Tricolors have a deep and varied squad, and in the view of former star Christophe Dugarry, they should have only one goal.

“We are France. What is the problem with saying that we are going there to win the World Cup?” asked the former Bordeaux striker and 1998 world champion. “We go with respect for our opponents, but we are France and we have incredible players. We can pretend, but let’s stop with that... We have the best players. We are going there to win, and we have to win.”

Dugarry continued on RMC: “You cannot ignore the quality of our players. We have a problem at fullback, but we still have great depth in defense, midfield and attack. Which team is better equipped than us? We are the clear favorites. Not winning would be a failure. A lot can happen in a football match, but if everything goes well, without injuries and without disastrous refereeing decisions, France should win the tournament.”

Christophe Dugarry with the World Cup trophy in Marseille after the 1998 victory, Didier Deschamps on his left / GettyImages, BORIS HORVAT/AFP

Dugarry’s comments came after his partner in France’s first World Cup triumph, Didier Deschamps, was, of course, more cautious in an interview in England. “The word ‘favorites’ is not taboo for me, we are among the contenders to win,” the France coach told The Guardian. “It is a logical and legitimate status, because of what we have achieved. Perhaps we get more recognition outside France, the attitude toward us at home is already different.”

France will begin its Group I campaign with a match against Senegal on Tuesday (22:00). It will then face Iraq on June 22 (00:00) and Norway on June 26 (22:00).