Kylian Mbappé — France World Cup 2026 Squad

France do not need long to explain why Kylian Mbappe still sits near the top of every World Cup conversation. He is 27, he arrives from Real Madrid with 100 caps and 52 goals, and he has already lived two versions of this tournament: a winner in 2018 and the man who scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final and still walked away beaten. That is why the pressure around him feels different now. He is no longer the terrifying young forward bursting out of a loaded France side. He is the forward the whole attack bends around, the player who can start wide, run beyond the line, or receive to feet and turn one defender's mistake into a goal inside five seconds. France have other stars, but they do not have another attacker who forces a back four to retreat the moment he opens his body. The obvious question for 2026 is whether this becomes Mbappe's tournament from the first week rather than from a handful of huge moments. If it does, France will not just look dangerous. They will look like favourites again.