France’s Routes to the World Cup Final

What is France’s route to the World Cup final? Discover who their potential opponents are whether they top their group or finish as runners-up instead!

Two-time winners of the tournament, France 4/1 are one of the biggest and best nations to have ever competed. The last two tournaments have been some of their best campaigns, finishing as champions in 2018 and runners-up in 2022. With their squad also filled with elite players throughout, they’re certainly in contention to crown themselves the 2026 champion – in fact, they’re among the favourites across World Cup winner betting markets.

However, you may be wondering – if they’re going to win the competition for a third time, what will their World Cup route to the final be? After losing out on the 2022 World Cup, France will be motivated to reclaim the trophy as their own. Below, this blog will go over France’s possible World Cup routes, covering the paths they could take if they topped their group or even finished second.  

And as the tournament progresses, why not follow all the France games as they happen with the latest World Cup betting odds.

France’s odds of progressing through each round

Before we dive into France’s route to the World Cup final, let’s take a look at what odds they’re given of reaching each round (at the minimum).

Who do France play in the group phase? 

The World Cup draw has placed France into Group I with Senegal, Norway, and Iraq. With France topping the FIFA rankings, on paper they are head and shoulders above the other teams. Senegal are the closest team on this list; still, the 2022 World Cup runners-up should be topping this group considering the quality of players they have at their disposal. 

France’s route to the World Cup final (if they win their group)

Should France manage to top their group after bettering their first three opponents across the three games, who will be their next challenge? Here is France’s route to the World Cup final if this is the case. 

Round of 32 

June 30th vs Group C/D/F/G/H third place  

If France do manage to finish first in their group, they would face the third-placed team from either Group C, D, F, G, or H. The odds suggest that this will be one of Scotland, Paraguay, Iran, Saudi Arabia, or Sweden. Les Bleus should ease past their round of 32 opponents, whoever they are. 

Round of 16 

July 4th vs Germany 

So, if France tackle their round of 32 challenge, they would most likely next face the 2014 World Cup winners Germany. This is because Germany are expected to top Group E and surpass the third-placed team from either Group A, B, C, D, or F. But what if the French end up on the losing side here? Discover Germany’s possible routes to the World Cup final!

As France and Germany’s historical matchup in all competitions is close, with Les Bleus having 16 wins and Die Mannschaft having 12, we could be in for an exciting round of 16! 

Quarter final 

July 9th vs Netherlands 

The next nation in France’s possible World Cup route appears to be the Netherlands. The odds suggest that the Dutch are set to play Morocco in the round of 32 and then Switzerland in the round of 16, who they should beat. 

Especially considering that this is the business end of the tournament, a clash between two top nations like France and the Netherlands could be a super spectacle! 

Semi-final 

July 14th vs Spain 

The last hurdle before France makes it to the final is potentially the biggest challenge they could face at the 2026 World Cup, Spain (see Spain’s possible routes to the World Cup final to see who they may come up against ahead of this stage). The Euro 2024 winners are stacked with talents like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, both of whom have made a dangerous partnership for their national team. With France narrowly losing 2-1 at the Euros two years ago, it will be interesting to see if they can overcome their opponents this time around. 

If Spain aren’t able to make it to the last four teams, France may end up facing Belgium instead. 

World Cup final 

July 19th vs England 

So, France have conquered every challenge up to this point, scrapping through the groups and knockouts. Who’s their final opponent of the tournament? The Three Lions (explore England’s possible routes to the World Cup final, to get a flavour of their potential avenue to glory).  

If France want to win their third World Cup and second in three tournaments, they’ll have to beat a hopeful and driven England team, ready to win for the first time in 60 years. A repeat fixture of the 2022 World Cup quarter-final, France will be hoping they can replicate the result here after they won 2-1. 

If it’s not England, France are likely to play against one of the two South American giants Argentina or Brazil instead. 

France’s route to the World Cup final (if they don’t win their group)

So, let’s say that things don’t go to plan, and Les Bleus fail to top their group, what would France’s potential World Cup route be then? Let’s take a look:

Round of 32 

June 30th vs Ecuador 

If France finish second in their group, Ecuador is the most likely team they’ll face as they are predicted to end up runner-up in Group E. With Ecuador managing a draw the last time the two sides faced at the World Cup in 2014, they can hope for another close game here. 

Should France end up third in Group I, then they’re expected to play against one of Mexico, England, USA, Belgium, or Portugal. 

Round of 16 

July 5th vs Brazil 

If they overcome the challenge of Ecuador, France then appear as though they would play the five-time champions Brazil in the round of 16!

That’s a huge clash to have this early in the tournament but would be a great watch for football fans around the globe. With Les Bleus beating Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final, the Selecao will be keen to defeat the French national team here. Of course, the French might get stagefright – in which case you’ll want to know Brazil’s possible routes to the World Cup final.

If Brazil don’t manage to make it to this stage of the tournament, France would likely play Japan. 

Quarter final 

July 11th vs England 

Instead of a clash in the World Cup final, should Les Bleus come second in their group, they would play the Three Lions in the quarter-final instead. This exactly replicates their 2022 meeting, being the same stage as when the two sides last faced off against each other. 

Semi final 

July 15th vs Argentina 

Another duplicate fixture of the 2022 World Cup, France meeting Argentina again would be an enormous clash. Considering they lost to the Albiceleste in the final at the last tournament, France wouldn’t want to come out on the wrong side of this fixture again. After only losing narrowly on penalties, however, they are clearly two evenly matched nations. Incidentally, see Argentina’s possible route to the World Cup final, to discover their potential opponents prior to this clash.

Should Argentina fail to progress into the semi-final, Portugal would be France’s opponent instead.  

World Cup final 

July 19th vs Spain 

Rather than meeting in the semi-finals like they did if France topped Group I, Spain are now their opposition in the World Cup final instead. If France finished third in their group, this would still be the most likely outcome if they managed to reach the final too!