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Nine points, first place in a star-studded Group I and a place in the round of 16: that’s the dominant start France has produced at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
But the round of 32 brings higher stakes and a whole new level of competition: The winner moves on, the loser goes home. For FOX Sports Zlatan Ibrahimović, this French team is in a league of its own.
“These are levels. When they switch on, I don’t see many teams beating them. The only chance they invite their opponents to the game is when they relax and they switch off,” Ibrahimović said after France’s 4-1 win over Norway. “This is different. Now everyone is eating. It’s a team to watch out for (because), they’re the favorites to win the World Cup. It’s on another level.”
The 2022 World Cup runners-up won all three group stage matches over Norway, Senegal and Iraq and are +350 to win the tournament. In addition to their nine points, France scored a total of 10 goals and conceded just two.
France’s roster has shown up and proved they are the team to beat at the World Cup.
Star forward Kylian Mbappé enters his second World Cup and is already on course to win another Golden Boot award. Through three games, Mbappé has scored four goals – two against Iran and two against Senegal. In addition, forward Ousmane Dembélé added a hat-trick to his World Cup resume against Norway.
For FOX Sports’ Thierry Henry, the French roster speaks for itself, but allows no breathing space heading into single elimination.
“We all know the team we have and the bench we have. New World Cup starts now for everyone. When you go into the round of 16, any mistake will be expensive,” Henry said after the win. “It’s not like you have another game and another game and you see how it works (out). If you lose, you go home. So let’s see what’s going to happen. It was nice to see some guys score goals, Dembélé scored more… It’s another World Cup. It’s a different type of competition right now for me personally.”
France continue their World Cup campaign on June 30 against Sweden at the New York/New Jersey Stadium.
