French Team: after their successful tour in the United States, what program for the Blues until the World Cup?

The general repetition is over. Victorious over Brazil in Boston on Thursday (1-2) and Colombia in Washington this Sunday (1-3), the French team completed its final preparation window before regrouping at the end of May to head towards the 2026 World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 19.

But the Blues will not wait for the opening match to return to the center of attention. As of May 14, coach Didier Deschamps will announce, on the TF1 8 p.m. news, the list of players who will fly to the United States less than a month later. Initially scheduled the day before, this announcement was postponed due to the rescheduling of the Lens-PSG Ligue 1 match, now set for May 13.

The gathering of troops at Clairefontaine to kick off the final preparation is planned two weeks later and could vary depending on the players. While FIFA requires clubs to release internationals by Monday, May 25, many selected players will have played their last match the previous weekend, as the English, Italian, and Spanish leagues end on this date, as well as the German Cup and the French Cup. The Champions League final, scheduled for Saturday, May 30, could further delay the arrival of some players.

Two friendlies in France

In any case, Didier Deschamps does not intend to rush his players and plans to give them a few days of rest with their families before embarking on an adventure that could last up to six weeks. The entire group is expected to arrive at Clairefontaine on May 27 or 28, with the exception of any potential Champions League finalists.

The matches will then follow quickly, with the first friendly match on June 4 in Nantes against Ivory Coast. A second game is scheduled four days later in Lille, but the opponent is not yet known. It will depend on the final qualifier from the intercontinental playoffs, either Iraq or Bolivia, to allow the French team to prepare for a similar opponent.

The big departure for the United States is set for June 10, the day before the opening match of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa. The French team will start their campaign on June 16 against Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. They will continue their group stage matches against the winner of Tuesday’s playoff between Iraq and Bolivia on June 22 in Philadelphia, and on June 26 in Boston against Norway.