In ceding the reins to Mbappé, Olise and Dembélé, France look as under control as ever

Didier Deschamps used to manage with an iron fist. This time, he’s letting his stars run the show – to Les Bleus’ benefit

When a cat has cornered a mouse and appears to be toying with its prey, it isn’t actually being cruel so much as it is planning and practicing all the ways in which it may finally kill it off.

We are, it almost goes without saying, speaking about France at the 2026 World Cup here. Les Bleus have scored at least three goals in their last four games and, each time, looked an awful lot like they might have run the score up further, if only they hadn’t run out of time, energy or interest.

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