France
Manager: Didier Deschamps
Set to step down after this tournament, Didier Deschamps divided opinion in his playing days and still has his critics as a coach, despite guiding Les Bleus to a second world title in 2018 and the final in Qatar four years later. Captain Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot in 2022 but has been plagued by a knee injury all season, so backing Ousmane Dembele to be France's top scorer at the tournament makes sense. France's unrivalled depth means they can handle most injuries, and Deschamps may rotate his team throughout the group stage to maintain squad harmony and keep everyone fresh. The draw is designed to keep the French away from their potential title rivals until the semi-finals, but that depends on avoiding any group-stage hiccups.