France is one of the three top contenders for the title in 2026. With Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, and a wealth of world-class players, the Équipe Tricolore likely has the deepest roster in the tournament. Coach Didier Deschamps has announced that he will step down after the 2026 World Cup—a final grand moment for one of the most successful national team coaches of all time.

For his final tournament as national team coach, Didier Deschamps named three goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Brice Samba, and Robin Risser—all three are World Cup rookies, and none of them has ever played in goal at a World Cup before.

Maignan missed the entire 2022 World Cup due to injury. It wasn’t until early 2023 that he became the new starting goalkeeper for the Équipe Tricolore—at a time when he had played just five international matches. What followed was a meteoric rise: At the 2024 European Championship, he led France to the semifinals and was named to UEFA’s All-Star Team for the tournament. In January 2026, he extended his contract with AC Milan through 2031.

Maignan is not a traditional goalkeeper who simply holds the line. He impresses with explosive reflexes, aggressive coming off his line, and genuine leadership qualities behind the defense. France is among the World Cup favorites—and Maignan is one of the reasons why.

Samba, who was born in the Republic of the Congo and has been a French international since 2023, brings an unusually broad range of career experience to the role of second-choice goalkeeper. His path took him from Olympique Marseille to Nottingham Forest—where he established himself as the starting goalkeeper in the Championship—and back to France to RC Lens, with whom he reached the Champions League qualifiers in the 2022–23 season. In January 2025, he transferred to Stade Rennes for around 15 million euros, where he confirmed his level of performance.

At the international level, he is still a young national team player with only four caps. But that is precisely what makes him valuable for this role: no ego, full concentration on his task as a backup. Particularly noteworthy is his strength on penalty kicks—a skill that can be a decisive factor at any time in a World Cup tournament.

Risser was honored at the UNFP Gala a few days before being named the 2025–26 Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year—in his very first full season in the top flight, at the age of 21. For RC Lens, he started all 33 league games, recorded 11 shutouts, and anchored one of the league’s strongest defenses. His rise came via loan stints in the third and second divisions—without taking any shortcuts.

Deschamps named him as the third-choice goalkeeper. Anyone following Risser’s career knows: we’ll be hearing that name a lot more often.