'This France team don't compare to 1998' World Cup winner hails first French champions

In the history of the World Cup, only eight different teams have lifted the famous trophy. 

Starting with Uruguay in 1930, the elite club includes Brazil, England, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Spain and France, and ahead of the kick-off to the 2026 tournament, it's those same names who are among the favourites once again. 

As it stands, it's France who are seen as the team to beat in North America, with many believing Didier Deschamps will sign off his reign as national team boss with a second World Cup win. 

---

All the best goals from 1998 

The tournament where France won the big one 
 

 

---

They boast a squad that's arguably the strongest in the competition, especially in attack, where they can call on the likes of Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and, of course, Kylian Mbappe. 

It feels like it's firepower that could simply blow away the other contenders on the way to bagging what would be a third World Cup victory for the French. 

Frank Leboeuf is someone who is part of that lineage, having played a role for his national team in their maiden triumph in 1998, and despite the current side packing world-class talent throughout the team, he believes they still don't compare to the side he played in 28 years ago. 

"I think we were more complete,  in a way that we were more experienced," he exclusively told DAZN News thanks to Covers.com, where you can also grab a Kalshi promo code. 

"Only a few players like Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and maybe a little bit Robert Pires were younger.

"But otherwise, we were around our 30s. So that was already something. And we were all captains or vice-captains from our club teams.

"We were leaders, all of us. And we were defensively crazy strong, also in the middle of the park, with Deschamps, Vieira, Petit, Boghossian.

Getty

"They were just monsters. And it's like we didn't need to do anything because those players were doing everything. And of course, we had the genius Zidane, too. 

"We were complete. We finished with the best attack, best defence.  And we knew how to play together. We knew each other very well.

"Which is maybe the comparison with these players nowadays. You don't really know. We don't know who's going to play at the back. We still have question marks."

Leboeuf may be in the minority when it comes to France's question marks, but it could come down to how Deschamps fits in his embarrassment of riches in attack into his first XI. 

Michael Olise has been used from the right in a season where he was named the Bundesliga's player of the season, but faces a fight on that side with two-time Champions League winner Dembele and the former Chelsea defender does not quite know how Deschamps will tackle this position battle. 

Getty Images

Adding, "It looks like Deschamps is going to move Olise as a number 10. I don't know if he's going to be a success or a good idea or a wrong one. Because he's very good on the right side. But on the right side, you would have Dembélé.  So that's going to be the tricky point for Deschamps.

"I think Doué is going to be on the left and Mbappé as a striker. But having those players doesn't mean that you're going to be successful. 

"I remember in 2002, we had Nicolas Hennecat, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet, and we didn't get out of the group stages because they didn't score one goal.

"I still have some question marks about our defensive aspect. And also in the middle of the park, who's going to be playing?  You have to be strong in order to hold the battle.

"Let's see how Didier Deschamps makes it work." 

France open their campaign against Senegal on Tuesday in Group I before games against Iraq and Norway, in what is one of the toughest pools in the opening round. 

Watch World Cup archive, highlights and documentaries for FREE on DAZN

DAZN is the home of FIFA+, a vast library of football on-demand content including World Cup archive, iconic documentaries, player profiles, live matches and both full match replays and highlights.

Watch it all for FREE on DAZN on smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles and web browsers.