In World Cup 2018 qualification round, France was the first in their group with 23 points; winning 7 wins, drawing 2 and losing once, although their two draws were against considerably weaker nations, drawing 0–0 with Belarus in their opening match and against Luxembourg, failing to secure a win against the latter for the first time since 1914. Their only defeat of the qualifying phase was against Sweden, 2–1.

France secured qualification to the World Cup finals with a 2–1 win over Belarus after atomizing the Netherlands 4 to 0 at home a few weeks earlier. They were drawn to play Australia, Peru and Denmark in a group in which they were considered heavy favorites.

Overall, France were tipped by many as one of the favorites, they had a somewhat disappointing performance in the group stage, only managing a 2–1 win over Australia and a 1–0 win over Peru, followed by a match against Denmark which finished in a 0–0 draw. France beat Argentina 4–3 in the round of sixteen and then Uruguay 2–0 to qualify for the semi-final stage, where they beat Belgium 1–0.

On 15 July, France beat Croatia in the final with result 4–2 to win the World Cup for the 2nd time in their history. Didier Deschamps became the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach.