Former world champions Brazil and France have officially booked their places in the main round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With the qualifiers now complete, both teams have lined up several friendly matches to fine-tune their squads ahead of the tournament. Among those fixtures is a much-anticipated clash between the two giants.
Brazil Clash Highlights Star-Studded US Tour for Les Bleus
On Friday, the French Football Federation (FFF) revealed the opponents and schedule for Kylian Mbappé’s upcoming friendlies. Both games will take place in the United States, the host nation for the 2026 World Cup.
France will face Brazil in Boston, and another Latin American side, Colombia, in Florida. The exact dates are yet to be finalized, but the fixtures are expected to fall within the FIFA international window between March 23 and 31. Only three months after this window, the World Cup will kick off across the USA, Mexico, and Canada, marking the first edition to feature 48 teams.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑭𝑭𝑭 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔.
He added that playing two major teams on American soil would be a valuable test ahead of the tournament. Diallo also explained that France already knows Brazil won’t be in their group, though Colombia could be a possible opponent:
“𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒚. 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Warm-Up Plans Continue as World Cup Nears
The buzz around a Brazil–France friendly had been circulating for days, but no official confirmation had come earlier. Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil is expected to play at least three matches between March and June, including the likely showdown with Colombia. France, on the other hand, will add two home friendlies in early June, just weeks before the World Cup begins.
Mbappé’s France secured qualification by winning five of six matches in their European qualifying group. The 2018 champions topped Group D comfortably, ensuring their spot in the 2026 tournament.
The official World Cup draw is scheduled for December 5 in Washington, D.C. The three host nations—USA, Mexico, and Canada—will join the top nine-ranked teams in Pot 1, meaning Brazil and France will not face each other in the group stage. Colombia, ranked lower, will be placed in Pot 2.
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