Less than three months before the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the French team will fly this Tuesday for an American international break during which they will face Brazil and Colombia. An opportunity for the Blues to have a “great rehearsal” before the World Cup. Not to mention the economic stakes of such a trip.
An international break with a taste of the 2026 World Cup. The French team is preparing to fly to the United States to play friendly matches against Brazil on March 26 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Colombia on March 29 in Landover, Maryland.
The players of the French team, recently released by their clubs, are expected at Clairefontaine on Monday. They will have lunch there before an afternoon dedicated to photoshoots and activities with the team’s partners. The light training session at 5:30 pm has been canceled, so they will have free time and must return to the chateau before midnight. The entire delegation will take the plane early Tuesday morning, heading to Boston and the 5-star Four Seasons hotel, where they will stay.
Back from Sunday evening
According to reports from Ouest-France, the Blues will not be able to test the training center at Babson College as FIFA has not yet completed all its arrangements. Instead, they will train at the New England Revolution facilities, a Major League Soccer team.
After the match against Brazil on Thursday (9 pm), Didier Deschamps and his team will travel to Washington, still on the East Coast of the United States, to face Colombia on Sunday (9 pm). The return to France will be overnight so that the players can recover before their weekend club matches.
But was this American tour necessary from a sports perspective? Or was it guided by economic interests? French Football Federation (FFF) president Philippe Diallo dismissed the latter option in an interview with Le Figaro on Sunday. “It’s a kind of rehearsal for what the World Cup will be like since we will play in Boston, where we will have one of our matches. We will stay at the base camp, which will be the one for the World Cup. This American sequence is both a prestigious tour against great teams and an exciting preliminary competition for the future,” he assured.
A significant stake for Nike?
However, just a few days earlier, Didier Deschamps had been less categorical when announcing his extended squad of 26 players. “This tour is there, we deserved it since we don’t have playoffs to play, but it’s not ideal from a sports perspective. There are other factors to consider, and I have to deal with them as a coach,” the coach said.
As the French team unveiled the two jerseys they will wear during the World Cup on Monday morning, the interests of equipment manufacturer Nike, under contract with the Blues until 2034 for around 100 million euros annually, could be to capture the American market with the 2018 world champions. “Nike is obviously delighted, as a partner, that we are going to the United States,” acknowledged Philippe Diallo. “But this is not a choice imposed by our sponsor.”
