France will hope to qualify for the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup on Monday evening, when they face Iraq in Philadelphia. Didier Deschamps' side began their tournament last week with a 3-1 win against Senegal in what was a proverbial game of two halves.

Ayyoub Bouaddi has been linked with Arsenal, Paris St-Germain and Liverpool Olivier Giroud knows a prodigious talent when he sees one. "I played with Kylian Mbappe when he was 18," the BBC Sport pundit said.

"There was no worse choice for our confidence than choosing Spain," Toulalan said. "The federation goes where the wind blows and is doing nothing to help us. I have never felt so

France and Spain are among the favorites to take home the 2026 World Cup. Here's a look at the full, 48-team field ranked by their odds to win.

Despite France's well-established pecking order, a sluggish first-half display in the 3-1 win over Senegal at the World ​Cup may have offered hope to those on the fringes ‌of Didier Deschamps' starting lineup,

Top football teams increasingly rely on big data and predictive algorithms to gain an advantage. But sports psychology plays a big role, too. And that is where I come in. I have a passion for sports in general and soccer in particular – it is the game I grew up playing in Germany.

France striker Kylian Mbappé has scored the 13 and 14th World Cup goals of his career, tied for the fourth most in tournament history. Mbappé passed Pelé and countryman Just Fontaine on the