The 2026 World Cup kicks off this week, and the French national team is heading to the United States with something exciting to show the world. On paper, they may not be the most experienced or the most successful team, but they’re a generation of players who inspire dreams. Between the disappointing friendly against Ivory Coast in early June and the convincing performances against Brazil and Colombia in March, Les Bleus are hard to pin down. And maybe that’s what makes them so interesting. Here are the five French players who, in our opinion, will make their mark on this tournament.
Ousmane Dembélé, the left-footed player who causes trouble
Just a few years ago, mentioning Dembélé in a serious article about Les Bleus was risky. Injuries, absences, unfulfilled promise. All that is in the past. The 2025–2026 season with PSG has definitively silenced the skeptics: 20 goals and 10 assists in 38 games. These numbers speak for themselves for a winger whose role isn’t solely to finish plays. At 28, he’s heading into this World Cup in the best form of his career, with the maturity he once lacked. On the big stage, he’s capable of making a difference with a single move.
Rayan Cherki, Manchester City's prodigy
Cherki has done something extraordinary this season: establish himself as a regular starter at Manchester City. 52 games, 10 goals, 16 assists. For a player of his type, assists are often more telling than goals, and 16 assists for one of the most tactically demanding teams in Europe—you can’t make that up. What sets Cherki apart is his ability to read the game before anyone else. Some players run fast, and some players think fast. Cherki is both. He has clearly found his footing on the French national team, and reports from June 7 suggest he might start in the very first match against Senegal.
Michael Olise: A Phenomenal Season
If you haven’t been following Bayern Munich this season, here’s what you’ve missed: Michael Olise putting together one of the best seasons by a French player abroad in a long time. 22 goals and 26 assists in 51 games across all competitions. In the Bundesliga alone, 15 goals and 19 assists in 32 games. He was named Bayern’s Player of the Year, which speaks volumes about the impact he’s had in a locker room that includes Harry Kane. Olise heads into the World Cup with the confidence and technical skills that place him among the most well-rounded players in the tournament. He’s the kind of player who can adapt to any system and turn a game around in a matter of minutes.
Désiré Doué, the rising star who is starting to make a name for himself
Doué is 20 years old and is coming off a very solid season at PSG with 13 goals and 8 assists in 39 games. Those are decent numbers, but that’s not what’s most impressive about him. What’s impressive is how he plays. There’s something instinctive about his movement—a way of finding open spaces that’s reminiscent of the great creative players. He isn’t yet the dominant player he’ll become in two or three years, but the World Cup is exactly the kind of tournament that can accelerate a career. Be sure to remember his name, because in a few weeks, everyone will be talking about him.
Warren Zaïre-Emery, the boss
96% of PSG’s matches this season. 52 matches, 45 starts. These numbers alone sum up what Warren Zaïre-Emery means to his club. At 20, he is the undisputed starter in midfield for one of Europe’s most competitive teams. Not a player in the making, not a promising talent. A starter. His 3 goals and 5 assists may seem modest, but that’s not what’s expected of him. What’s expected of him is to control the game, win back possession, and distribute the ball intelligently. And he does it better than almost anyone else in France. On the national team, he brings exactly the stability Les Bleus need to free up the playmakers around him.
How This World Cup Could Affect the Value of Your Collectibles
There’s something fascinating about the way major tournaments transform the value of sports memorabilia. After the 2018 World Cup, the value of Mbappé’s cards and jerseys increased fivefold in just a few months. After 2022, it was Messi whose memorabilia skyrocketed in value. This is no coincidence. The World Cup is the most-watched competition in the world, and it creates images, moments, and legends that remain etched in our memories. A goal by Cherki in the quarterfinals, a phenomenal performance by Olise—and collectors around the world are rushing to snap up these items.
Dembélé, Cherki, Olise, Doué, Zaïre-Emery. These five players currently have collectibles available at reasonable prices. In a few weeks, depending on what happens on the American fields, that may no longer be the case. At Collectoria, we offer signed jerseys and certified, authenticated cards of French players, with Beckett certification that can be verified directly via a QR code. Now is the perfect time to expand your collection with items that have real long-term value.
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An accessible group with high ambitions
France has been drawn into Group I alongside Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. On paper, it’s a group they should be able to advance from. But soccer—especially at the World Cup—isn’t decided on paper. The loss to Ivory Coast a few days ago showed that nothing is a given. What is certain is that if these five players perform at the level they’ve shown this season, France will be a serious contender for the title. And that will be worth watching.