France's defeat against Ivory Coast (1-2) in a friendly on Thursday draws a new parallel with the preparation for the 2002 World Cup where Les Bleus appeared as the big favorites before falling in the first round.

Are we seeing the French team as too good to be true, like in 2002? Didier Deschamps, coach of Les Bleus, issued a sharp warning at the start of the training camp in Clairefontaine last week for the beginning of preparations for the 2026 World Cup. "We are already being seen on July 19th, I don't like that very much, not at all," the coach said in response to the praise surrounding his team and the predictions placing them as the overwhelming favorites for the world title.

This was also the case in 2002 when Les Bleus, the reigning world champions, arrived with a huge target on their backs, undoubtedly boasting the best players in the world and the top scorers from three European leagues. Before crashing out in the first round. Twenty-four years later, the coach wants to avoid this pitfall in his final match with Les Bleus. The parallels with 2002 – such as the defeat against Ivory Coast (1-2) on Thursday – are numerous, and Deschamps is well aware of them, even though he had been retired from playing for two years during the debacle in South Korea and Japan.

A label of top favorites

The convincing victories against Brazil (2-1) and Colombia (3-1) in March cemented France's status as favorites for the 2026 World Cup in the eyes of many opponents, thanks to its immense squad depth which would allow it to field two equally competitive teams. Crucially, France enters the 2026 edition having played in the last two finals: the one won in 2018 against Croatia (4-2) and the epic final lost to Argentina in 2022 (3-3, 4-2 on penalties). This was also the case for the French team of 2002, crowned world champions for the first time in their history in 1998, winners of Euro 2000 two years later, and then of the Confederations Cup in 2001.

A fire attack

As in 2002, the French national team's attacking prowess is shaking the football world in 2026. PSG's Champions League victory bears the hallmarks of its five French internationals (including Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé), Kylian Mbappé finished as La Liga's top scorer, Michael Olise is coming off a stratospheric season with Bayern Munich, and Rayan Cherki produced some flashes of brilliance with Manchester City. In 2002, Roger Lemerre's squad boasted the top scorers from three major European leagues: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) in England, David Trezeguet (Juventus) in Italy, and Djibril Cissé (Auxerre) in France.

Zinedine Zidane, for his part, had just secured the Champions League title for Real Madrid with a fantastic goal in the final against Bayer Leverkusen (he was the overwhelming favorite for the Ballon d'Or... before the World Cup). The only blemish on his record at that time was the absence of Robert Pirès, who suffered a serious knee injury in March while playing for Arsenal, a match in which he was in scintillating form. France in 2026 also has an injured player missing from its attack: Hugo Ekitike, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in March against PSG in the Champions League. But the former Parisian wasn't a key player for the national team like Pirès was.

A home defeat in preparation

Seemingly insignificant on paper, France's home defeat against Ivory Coast (1-2) in Nantes – where they had never lost before – brought back memories of another defeat before the 2002 World Cup. Before heading to South Korea, Les Bleus had suffered the same scoreline against Belgium (1-2) at the Stade de France after three years of invincibility on home soil. Zinédine Zidane, who had stayed with his wife after the birth of their son Théo, was not present. Returning for the following friendly against South Korea (a 3-2 victory), he injured his thigh after just 30 minutes of play, five days before Les Bleus' opening match at the World Cup. This marked the beginning of a media frenzy surrounding the state of Zizou's infamous thigh injury.

An opening match against Senegal

France will begin their 2026 World Cup campaign against the same opponent as in 2002: Senegal. And it went very badly for Les Bleus, who, without Zidane, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to a goal from Papa Bouba Diop. Marcel Desailly's teammates then failed to secure a win against Uruguay (0-0). Needing a victory in their final match against Denmark, Les Bleus were counting heavily on the return of Zidane, who was still somewhat hampered by injury. Lacking ideas, they stumbled (2-0 defeat) and were eliminated from the World Cup in the group stage. A huge upset.

Format, coach's contract... things have changed too

Twenty-four years later, the format of the World Cup has changed considerably, with 48 qualified teams, the introduction of the round of 32, and greater chances of qualification. Above all, Les Bleus are not the type to approach the pool stages with overconfidence, as was the case in 2002 ("What do I risk? I have the best in the world!", Lemerre had exclaimed to Bernard Laporte, then coach of the French national team).

Since Deschamps' appointment in 2012, they have qualified for the final stages of all their competitions (Euros and World Cups). The manager's situation is also different: Deschamps, in charge for 14 years, will leave his post after the World Cup and still seems to have strong support from his squad. In 2002, Roger Lemerre, appointed head coach in 1998 after serving as Aimé Jacquet's assistant, extended his contract until 2004. However, his relationship with the Federation president, Claude Simonet, was somewhat strained, as was his relationship with the players, with whom he could be quite authoritarian. He ultimately resigned after the debacle.