The general repetition is over. Victorious over Brazil in Boston on Thursday (1-2) and Colombia in Washington this Sunday (1-3), the French team has completed its final preparation window before regrouping at the end of May to head towards the 2026 World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 19.
But the Blues will not obviously wait for the opening match to return to the center of attention. From May 14, coach Didier Deschamps will announce, on the TF1 news at 8 pm, the list of players who will fly to the United States less than a month later. Initially scheduled for the day before, this announcement has been postponed by a day due to the rescheduling of the PSG-Lens Ligue 1 match, now set for May 13.
The gathering of the troops at Clairefontaine to start the final preparation is planned two weeks later and could vary depending on the players. While FIFA requires clubs to release internationals by Monday, May 25, many selected players will have played their last match over the weekend, as the English, Italian, and Spanish leagues conclude on this date, as well as the German Cup and the French Cup. The Champions League final, scheduled for Saturday, May 30, could further delay the arrival of some players.
Regardless, Didier Deschamps does not plan to rush his players and intends to offer them a few days of rest with their families before embarking on an adventure that could last up to six weeks. The entire group is expected to arrive at Clairefontaine on May 27 or 28, except for potential Champions League finalists.
The events will then quickly unfold, with the first friendly match on June 4 in Nantes against Ivory Coast. A second match is scheduled four days later in Lille, but the opponent is not yet known. It will depend on the final qualifier through intercontinental playoffs, Iraq or Bolivia, to allow the Blues to prepare for a similar opposition.
The big departure for the United States is set for June 10, the day before the opening match of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa. The French team will enter the competition on June 16 against Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. They will continue their group stage matches against the winner of Iraq-Bolivia on June 22 in Philadelphia and on June 26 in Boston against Norway.
