France are starting to feel the heat that comes with being favourites.

After another convincing performance, this time against Sweden, the mood around Les Bleus has shifted. The public excitement is growing, the belief is becoming louder, and the expectation is now difficult to avoid.

For Didier Deschamps, that brings a familiar problem.

The France coach has spent much of his long reign trying to keep emotion at a distance. Now, in what is set to be his final World Cup in charge, he must manage both a powerful squad and a country beginning to dream again.

Read also: Switzerland vs Algeria prediction: World Cup 2026 preview, lineups & prediction

A favourite tag that is hard to avoid

According to L’Équipe, Deschamps is trying to temper the enthusiasm around France after their display against Sweden, even as he increasingly accepts that his team are among the favourites to win the tournament.

That balance has often defined his management.

Deschamps rarely gives much away in public. He prefers caution, control and routine. Even when France look strong, he usually avoids feeding the idea that the hardest work has already been done.

This time, however, the evidence is hard to ignore.

Read also: “I am ready to suffer”: Alaphilippe searches for a spark at the Tour

France have looked sharp, deep and confident. Their attack has carried a constant threat, while the squad still has the structure and experience that Deschamps values so highly.

Keeping confidence away from complacency

The danger for France is not only the opponent in front of them.

It is the atmosphere around them.

When a team begins to look superior, the discussion can quickly move beyond the next match. Supporters start looking at the bracket. Pundits start talking about the final. The word “favourites” becomes part of every conversation.

Read also: Portugal vs Croatia prediction: World Cup 2026 preview, lineups & prediction

That is exactly the kind of noise Deschamps will want to control.

His task is to keep France close to the habits that brought them here: preparation, discipline and a refusal to treat any match as a formality. The stronger the outside belief becomes, the more important that message is inside the camp.

The final act of a long era

This World Cup also carries a deeper meaning for Deschamps.

After 14 years in charge of France, he is preparing to leave the job at the end of the tournament. It is an extraordinary length of service in international football, and it gives this campaign the feeling of a closing chapter.

Read also: USA advance to 1/8-finals after Bosnia-Herzegovina victory

Deschamps has already shaped one of the great eras in French football. He won the World Cup as captain in 1998 and then as coach in 2018. He also led France to the 2022 final, where they were beaten by Argentina after one of the most dramatic matches in World Cup history.

Now he has one last chance to finish his time with Les Bleus in the biggest way possible.

France must stay on the ground

The emotion of that farewell could become a strength.

Players often speak about wanting to win for a coach who has guided them for years. In France’s case, that feeling may be even stronger because Deschamps has been such a constant figure across generations of players.

Read also: Spain vs Austria prediction: World Cup 2026 preview, lineups & prediction

But sentiment alone will not win a World Cup.

That is why Deschamps’ calm matters. France may have the talent, the momentum and the belief of a nation behind them, but knockout football is rarely generous to teams that start looking too far ahead.

The excitement around Les Bleus is real.

Deschamps’ job is to make sure his players feel it without being consumed by it.