World Cup 2026: Are France beatable? – BBC experts have their say

Neil Johnston, BBC Sport journalist

It’s going to require something extra special to stop this Les Bleus juggernaut from reaching a third straight World Cup final.

France have overcome a two-hour storm delay in Philadelphia, the loss of Deschamps for one match (he returned home for the funeral of his mother) and Paraguay’s ‘dark arts’ to reach the last eight.

They have been an absolute joy to watch, particularly against Sweden in the last 32 when they registered 25 attempts. The fear for their rivals is they still have another couple of gears we have not yet seen at this World Cup.

It’s not just Mbappe, Olise and Dembele – who have 20 goal involvements between them. Les Bleus have yet to fall behind.

They have conceded just twice in five games – when they were leading Senegal 3-0 and when they were 2-0 up against Norway, with Arsenal’s William Saliba and Olise’s Bayern Munich team-mate Dayot Upamecano marshalling the defence.

Who can stop France? They will meet Spain or Belgium in the semi-final if they get past Morocco. Spain, who have yet to concede, will be a huge test.

Les Bleus were frustrated by Paraguay before finding a way to win – and I suspect Deschamps’ side will have too much firepower for Spain, while their strength in depth from the bench is eye-watering.