2026 World Cup: Mbappé as 4th choice, Kolo Muani excluded, a surprise… The list of the Blues chosen by the readers of Le Figaro

Before the actual list presented by Didier Deschamps on Thursday, Le Figaro invited you to choose the 26 players who will represent France at this summer’s World Cup. Discover the results.

For almost two months, over 13,500 readers have been replacing Didier Deschamps to make a list of 26 players selected for the French national team for the 2026 World Cup. Before the official list announcement by the French team coach, which will be revealed on TF1’s news program on Thursday night, check out the results position by position (poll closed on Wednesday at 2 pm).

In defense (eight names), the favorites Dayot Upamecano (92%), William Saliba (89%), Jules Koundé (85%), and Ibrahima Konaté (85%) were not forgotten. Full-backs Lucas Digne (76%) and Malo Gusto (65%) were also popular choices, while the Hernandez brothers, Lucas (67%) and Théo (47%), were preferred over Maxence Lacroix (35%), who did not make the cut. Clément Lenglet (21%), Benjamin Pavard (20%), and the unexpected choice Matthieu Udol from Lens (17%) also did not appear in your list.

In the midfield, with only six selectable players, you relied on key figures of the French team: Aurélien Tchouaméni (90%), Warren Zaïre-Emery (90%), Adrien Rabiot (90%), N’Golo Kanté (80%), and Eduardo Camavinga (61%). Despite being chosen by many users (40% of the votes), the 2018 World Cup champion Corentin Tolisso did not convince the majority, who leaned towards Manu Konaté (56%). Struggling at AS Monaco, Paul Pogba (5%) is far from being considered for a call-up.

In the attack (nine names), there were some notable occurrences. Three players received more votes than the captain of the French team, Kylian Mbappé (95%). They are Ousmane Dembélé (97%), Désiré Doué (97%), and Michael Olise (96%). Additionally, you decided to take Bradley Barcola (92%), Rayan Cherki (86%), Maghnes Akliouche (65%), and Marcus Thuram (54%) to America as part of this five-star lineup.

And who gets a spot in the squad as the 9th choice due to Hugo Ekitike’s withdrawal? It’s Florian Thauvin (43%), another 2018 World Cup champion, who beat out potential returnee Antoine Griezmann (35%) and Randal Kolo Muani (20%), the main absentee. Many options like Jean-Philippe Mateta (18%), Kingsley Coman (17%), Olivier Giroud (16%), and even Karim Benzema (5%) did not attract enough attention. However, your final list below looks impressive.

The list of the 26 selected French players for the World Cup by the readers of Le Figaro:

• Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Rennes), Lucas Chevalier (PSG)
• Defenders: Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), William Saliba (Arsenal), Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Théo Hernandez (Al-Hilal)
• Midfielders: Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), N’Golo Kanté (Al-Ittihad), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Manu Konaté (AS Roma)
• Forwards: Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Désiré Doué (PSG), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Maghnes Akliouche (AS Monaco), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), Florian Thauvin (RC Lens)