Mbappé, Olise and a dream team: Why France are World Cup favourites

France's march through the FIFA World Cup 2026 has only strengthened their status as tournament favourites, with Didier Deschamps' side emerging as the most complete team left in the competition.

Les Bleus have won all four of their matches, scored 13 goals and conceded just once, capping another dominant display with a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the Round of 32 to book a last-16 meeting with Paraguay.

With defending champions Argentina, Brazil and England all on the opposite side of the draw, France's route to the latter stages appears increasingly favourable. Victory over Paraguay would set up a quarter-final against either Canada or Morocco, while reigning European champions Spain could await in the semi-finals.

France's firepower has few equals

Much of France's success continues to revolve around captain Kylian Mbappé, whose brace against Sweden took his tally to six goals at the tournament and 18 goals in 18 FIFA World Cup appearances.

The Real Madrid forward is edging closer to Just Fontaine's all-time record of 13 goals in a single World Cup, set in 1958. Yet Mbappé insists lifting the trophy remains his only focus.

"The objective is to go as far as possible, and come back here on July 19 and try to win," he said after the victory at MetLife Stadium.

While Mbappé remains France's biggest star, he has not been their standout performer in North America.

That honour arguably belongs to Michael Olise, whose creativity and vision have made him one of the revelations of the tournament. Alongside Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, and exciting attackers Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki, France possess arguably the deepest attacking unit at the World Cup.

A defence built to dominate

France's strength extends far beyond their attack.

The central defensive pairing of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano has provided the platform for Deschamps' side to play an aggressive high line, backed by the tireless midfield duo of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot.

Sweden manager Graham Potter admitted his side struggled to cope with the quality throughout the French squad.

"Anything's possible, but I personally haven't seen a better team," Potter said.

"Because of the quality they have all over the pitch, and then the options for them off the bench are very, very strong."

Deschamps wary of complacency

Despite France's flawless campaign, Deschamps has repeatedly warned his players against believing the job is already done.

The veteran coach has often pointed to France's disastrous title defence in 2002, when the reigning champions crashed out in the group stage without scoring a goal.

He believes staying grounded will be key if France are to reach a third successive World Cup final in what is expected to be his final tournament in charge.

"We are on a mission, as am I, with them," Deschamps said.

"Some of the other last-32 ties have been very difficult. I'm not going to say ours was easy, but we won with a bit of a margin."

France now turn their attention to Paraguay in the Round of 16, with anything other than victory expected to rank among the biggest upsets of the tournament. If Les Bleus maintain their current form, few teams appear capable of denying them another shot at World Cup glory.