France announces the roster of the World Cup qualifiers: Mbappe leads the new star, Ekitic loses the election

As the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers are about to rekindle, French national team head coach Deschamps recently announced a new roster. This list carries the expectations of the Gaul Roosters to compete for the World Cup main competition, and has also aroused widespread attention and heated discussions inside and outside the football world.

In this highly anticipated roster, in the goalkeeper position, Schalvalier from Paris Saint-Germain, Meinian of AC Milan and Samba of Rennes were selected, and they will compete to protect the French team's goal. The defense line is full of talents, including Digne (Villa), Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas-Hernandez (Paris), Theo-Hernandez (Riyadh Crescent), Connate (Liverpool), Conde (Barcelona), Saliba (Arsenal) and Yupamecano (Bayern). This defense line has both experienced veterans and young and strong up-and-comers. It has excellent defensive hardness and tactical flexibility, which will build a solid barrier for the French team's defense. In terms of midfield, the selection of Due (Paris), Cone (Roma), Rabiot (Marseille), Joan Ammeni (Real Madrid) and Kevren Turam (Juventus) gave the French midfielder strong control and creativity. Their outstanding performance in their respective clubs has given the French midfield a solid guarantee for offense and defense conversion, organization and scheduling, and offensive initiation.

The forward line is undoubtedly a major highlight of this list, and the first selection of Monaco young player Akliushe has become the focus. Born in 2002, Akliusch has both French and Algerian nationalities, plays as an attacking midfielder and is competent for right winger and right forward. He was born in a Monaco youth training camp and has gradually emerged since his career debut in 2021. In the 2023-24 season, he helped Monaco win the second place in Ligue 1 and qualify for the Champions League, making 31 personal appearances and scored 8 goals and 4 assists. His performance this season is still impressive and his data continues to improve. This young player is known for his excellent ball-handling, dribbling skills and passing vision. His ball handling ability and finishing ability in the narrow space are excellent. His selection in the national team this time is a high recognition of his outstanding performance and makes people look forward to his debut in the national team.

However, not all players can be selected as they wish. Liverpool striker Ekitic's defeat was quite surprising. This summer, Ekitic moved to Liverpool for a high price of 90 million euros and quickly showed good form at the club, scoring goals in the first few Premier League games of the new season. But the French coaching staff believes that although he performs well in the club, he still lacks stability. With the 2026 World Cup approaching, Deschamps is more inclined to choose players with more stable states to ensure the stability of the lineup and avoid adding too many variables to the front line. Although this decision made many fans feel sorry for Ekitic, it also indirectly reflects the intensity of the French team's forward competition.

The French national team will usher in two key battles in the World-European Preparation in September, with Ukraine and Iceland respectively. In this group, each team is eyeing the quota that directly advances to the World Cup. As a traditional strong team, the French team is undoubtedly a favorite to qualify, but there is no loss in every game. The Ukrainian team has also shown outstanding strength in international competitions in recent years, while the Iceland team has a tough style of play and tenacious fighting spirit. The French team must do their best to ensure the first place in the group and directly get the ticket to the 2026 World Cup.