Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Didier Deschamps believes France can still find new solutions to make the group behind their star-studded attack even more cohesive, ahead of facing Paraguay.
France are the favourites to secure a third World Cup crown ahead of their last-16 meeting with Paraguay – who eliminated Germany on penalties last time out – in Philadelphia.
The Opta supercomputer assigns Les Bleus a 28.8% chance of lifting the trophy, which is the best at the tournament by some distance, ahead of Argentina’s 16.1%.
France have scored three or more goals in all four of their matches at the 2026 World Cup, and only two nations have previously netted three or more goals across five matches in a single edition of the competition (Germany in 1954 and Brazil in 1970).
With Kylian Mbappe (eight), Ousmane Dembele (six) and Michael Olise (five), France are the first side with as many as three players on five goal involvements at any edition of the World Cup since Brazil in 2002 (Ronaldo eight, Rivaldo six, Ronaldinho five).
But Deschamps – who has already rotated Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot and Manu Kone in the midfield positions – still feels there is more to come from that unit.
“I don’t have problems, I only have solutions to find,” he told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“We had a slow start to the match [in the 3-0 win over Sweden last time out]. It happened again. Even if we have only conceded two goals, we have conceded chances.
“It all depends on how long the opponent has the ball. I’m not going to be satisfied with what we have done already.
“We talk about the attack because we score goals. In the relationship between the defensive line and the attack, there is the midfield.
“Whether it’s Aurelien, Adrien or Manu, they have to allow balance and pressing. You can’t detach the lines. It’s a puzzle, you need to have links.”
Brésil 2002 (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho)
France 2026 (Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise)
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) July 1, 2026
Deschamps could become the very first manager to win 10 World Cup knockout ties, having won nine of his previous 11 in the competition.
He will leave the Bleus job at the end of this tournament, but he has still not lost the sense of joy he gets from working with his players.
“I’ve been enjoying myself for 14 years. I know that the credit goes to the players,” he said.
“Beyond the quality of our football, there is also the human side. It’s a human adventure too. The number one priority is the players, and they have a good state of mind.
“They are all set on the objectives. I exchange a lot of views with them, collectively and individually. I don’t have many interventions to make on this aspect.”
Saturday’s game will be played in searing heat, with temperatures possibly exceeding 40 degrees Celsius at Philadelphia Stadium, which is largely uncovered.
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