Marcel Desailly Shares Views On France’s Chances at the FIFA World Cup 2026

France legend Marcel Desailly is confident that the French team can go a long way in the tournament. He believes the squad has all the abilities to finish in the top four, however, the pressure of the mega event can make any prediction uncertain.

Marcel Desailly is currently a FIFA ambassador and hopes the upcoming event will help football grow in parts of the world where it is still not the first-choice sport in some countries.

"I'm very proud to be an ambassador of FIFA because there's still a whole lot to do. Even if football is the best sport across the world, we still have a lot of market to grab: India, China, New Zealand, Australia, America, Canada, Thailand. We are not the first sport there.” said France legend Marcel Desailly.

He then talked about the level of competition in the FIFA World Cup 2026, saying the top teams like Brazil will continue to remain in the limelight during the tournament.

 "So you've seen the friendly match against Brazil. You've seen, and you felt that there's a difference in class between the teams. And now having Neymar back in the system, maybe Brazil will raise to another level.” said Marcel Desailly.

Talking about France, he said the team has an amazing bunch of players who are unparalleled in the football world.

“But the first perception that we all have is that France have an amazing squad. When you look at the individuals that are inside the team, there's no other team that can pretend to have those powerful players in the system.” said Marcel Desailly.

"Spain might be better. Argentina are the trophy holders. But if Didier (Deschamps) is able to bring a tactical organization into the system, France will again be one of the best.” added Marcel Desailly.

He further applauded the team combination of Portugal, saying they could prove to be a surprise package in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“You can have the surprise of Portugal. I believe that Portugal will be the surprise of the tournament, you know. Because if you look at it clearly, the type of players that they have in the system is just amazing to another level.” said Marcel Desailly.

Desailly then stressed the importance of starting well, saying France must need to play well against Norway to set the tone for the tournament.

"The way you start the first match will set up the rest of your tournament, probably because it's not an easy group that they are in. You have (Erling) Haaland, who is with Norway on the other side. If you start badly and you have to play, you are lucky that you play Iraq in your second match.” said Marcel Desailly.