France coach Didier Deschamps on 27 August unveiled a 23-man squad for the national team’s opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, recalling Marseille midfielder Adrien Rabiot and handing a first senior selection to Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche. Deschamps said Rabiot remains "an important element" despite the player’s recent exclusion from Marseille’s first-team training after a dressing-room altercation. The coach also confirmed that veteran striker Olivier Giroud has made his definitive farewell to the Bleus, while in-form Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike, Paris Saint-Germain outcast Randal Kolo Muani and teenage midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery were left out amid intense competition for places. Captain Kylian Mbappé headlines an attack that also features Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki. In defence, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Koundé and William Saliba return from injury, and Mike Maignan anchors an unchanged goalkeeping trio alongside Lucas Chevalier and Brice Samba. Les Bleus visit Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland, on 5 September before hosting Iceland at Paris’s Parc des Princes on 9 September. The Group D winner will qualify directly for the 2026 finals in North America, a campaign Deschamps has said will mark his last at the helm.