Deschamps believes Spain are World Cup favourites, not France

Didier Deschamps was not looking past Spain when asked who his favourites were to win the World Cup ahead of France’s Group I opener on Tuesday. 

France begin their campaign with a tough test against Senegal at New York New Jersey Stadium, in what will be Deschamps’ final major tournament in charge of Les Bleus. 

Their clash with Senegal will be Deschamps’ 20th World Cup match as France boss, with only Helmut Schon managing more games with a single team (25, with West Germany).

He is one of three individuals to win the tournament both as a player and head coach, along with Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer, though he predicts that Spain will be the ones to lift their first title since 2010 after their European Championship success. 

France were assigned a 14% chance of winning the World Cup by the Opta supercomputer, with Spain (16%) the only side better fancied in its pre-tournament simulations. 

And Deschamps seemed to agree with that prediction, though he did not rule France out of the running before they had even kicked a ball in North America. 

“If the Spanish consider us to be the favourites for the World Cup… If there is one favourite, it is Spain,” Deschamps told reporters. 

“Obviously, France has high-level potential, but the road is long. There is also a renewal, with players of great quality but for whom it will be the first World Cup.

“I’m not going to consider the French team stronger than the others, but the big favourite is Spain. I have no doubt about that.”

France and Senegal are meeting at the World Cup for the second time.

Their first encounter came in the 2002 group stage, where Senegal won 1-0 in their first ever World Cup match, while it was also the last time France lost their opening match at the tournament.

Both teams were unbeaten in their qualifiers for the World Cup. France won five of their six matches (D1) while Senegal topped their group ahead of DR Congo, and Deschamps acknowledged the difficulties his team would face.

When asked what changes he had made to his preparations before facing Senegal, Deshcamps said: “Nothing.

“Because of what Senegal has achieved, they are a very, very high-level opponent but there was the same attention, the same respect for the opponents we have faced before.

“But Senegal is one of the best teams in Africa and the world.”

Deschamps was also asked about the form of Ousmane Dembele, who arrives at the World Cup following another successful season with Paris Saint-Germain. 

Dembele scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists in 44 appearances across all competitions in 2025-26, though he has struggled on the international stage. 

He has managed to score just seven times in 59 outings for his country, while he was substituted in the 41st minute of France’s World Cup final defeat four years ago. 

“He started early in the national team, but he also had a lot of breaks due to his injuries,” Deschamps said of Dembele’s form for France. 

“At club level, there are matches every three days. The Ballon d’Or that he deserves has highlighted it.

“He is focused, like everyone else, with the desire to be good and decisive, as he is quite regularly with PSG, even though, this season, he has had physical problems that have led him to skip a lot of matches.

“We gave him time physically and psychologically to be able to evacuate the Champions League final and change. But with Ousmane at the top of his level, it will be a plus for the French team.”