- Tue, Jun 16 — France vs Senegal — New York/New Jersey Stadium, New York · Group I · 3:00 PM ET
- Mon, Jun 22 — France vs Iraq — Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia · Group I · 5:00 PM ET
- Fri, Jun 26 — Norway vs France — Boston Stadium, Boston · Group I · 3:00 PM ET
France World Cup 2026 Kickoff Times
All France kickoff times are shown in your local timezone, auto-detected from your browser. France play their group stage matches in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Use the timezone selector above to convert match times to ET, GMT, CET, IST, AEST, or any timezone. Set your available hours to see which France matches fit your schedule. For the full tournament schedule, the printable schedule, or a custom calendar, pick the tool that fits.
About France at World Cup 2026
France might have the strongest squad in the entire tournament, and that's been true for virtually every major competition over the past decade. The depth of talent available to coach Didier Deschamps is genuinely absurd, to the point where world-class players can't get into the matchday squad. On pure ability alone, France should win this World Cup. Whether they will is a different question entirely.
They won the World Cup in 1998 on home soil and again in 2018 in Russia, when a young Kylian Mbappe announced himself to the world with a devastating performance against Argentina. In 2022, they reached the final and lost on penalties despite Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in one of the greatest matches in tournament history. Two titles, three finals since 1998, and a Euros semi-final in 2024. The pedigree is beyond question.
This is Deschamps' final tournament after 13 years in charge. He's won the World Cup, reached another final, guided France to the Euro 2016 final on home soil, and has been the most successful French manager in history. But criticism of his cautious approach has been constant, especially after a dreary Euro 2024 where France never convinced despite reaching the semi-finals. With Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings as his successor, Deschamps will want to go out with a statement.
Mbappe is the headline act, the tournament's most marketable player and one of its deadliest. Behind him, reigning Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele has reached a new level, Desire Doue is rapidly becoming one of Europe's most complete attacking midfielders, and Michael Olise provides a different dimension from the wing. The bench options are ridiculous: Rayan Cherki, Marcus Thuram, Manu Kone. William Saliba might not even start, which tells you everything about the depth available.
Group I with Senegal, Norway, and Iraq is fascinating. The France versus Norway match could be the best group-stage game of the entire tournament, with Mbappe against Erling Haaland and two of the world's most electrifying attacks going head to head. Senegal have proven tournament pedigree and won't be easily dismissed. Iraq are heavy underdogs but arrive with an extraordinary qualification story.
France are expected to reach at least the semi-finals, and anything less would be a disappointment. Winning the whole thing is the only outcome Deschamps would consider a true success, given the talent at his disposal and the fact that this is his farewell. The concern, as always, is whether the sum of the parts matches the quality of the individual components. France have the ability to blow any opponent away. They also have a tendency to frustrate and underwhelm. Which version shows up in the knockout rounds will determine whether Deschamps rides into the sunset as a legend or is defined by what might have been.