The French national team, led by Kylian Mbappe and full of world-class players, is undoubtedly one of the main favorites to win the 2026 World Cup.
However, Didier Deschamps’ team will have to face two historical curses that haunt the favorites.
The curse of the FIFA rankings
After overtaking Spain to take the top spot in the FIFA rankings, France confirmed their status as one of the main contenders for the title. However, history is not in their favor. Since the FIFA rankings were created, no team that entered the tournament as the best team in the world has ever won the World Cup.
Ballon D’Or as weight
As absurd as it may sound, the status of the best in the world often proves to be an obstacle on the way to winning the World Cup. The French also have Ousmane Dembele, the current Ballon d’Or winner, in their ranks.
This is where another curse comes into play: in the more than 70 years of the award’s existence, no team with a current winner on its roster has ever lifted the World Cup trophy.
Even the greatest footballers have failed to break this trend. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the Ballon d’Or for more than 15 years, but neither of their teams won the World Cup while holding the title. Interestingly, Argentina won the title in Qatar in 2022, when the Ballon d’Or winner was Karim Benzema, who missed the tournament due to injury.
With just three months to go before the World Cup kicks off on June 11, France are considered the clear favourites among bookmakers and football pundits. However, if they are to win their third World Cup title, they will need to end two long, historic streaks.
