N'Golo Kanté
#13 · Midfielder · age 35
Veteran defensive midfielder at his fourth World Cup.
75
WC26 rating
- Recent form
- 38
- Career peak
- 75
- League level
- 76
- Competition pedigree
- 98
- International pedigree
- 90
- Longevity
- 63
Independent rating — league strength (Opta-anchored) × competition tier × position-normalized output. Not affiliated with EA or FIFA.
Career by season
Source: transfermarkt + sofascore · fetched 2026-05-29
Kanté’s inclusion is half tactical, half experience. At 35 he is no longer the relentless engine of the 2016-2018 vintage, but he is the only midfielder in the squad with World Cup-winning experience and one of the few players Deschamps trusts implicitly to close out a knockout-round game. Expect him in late-game lockdown substitutions, particularly if France are protecting a lead.
Strengths
- Ball-winning across the entire central midfield zone
- Tournament experience — three World Cups and three Euros
Recent form
Veteran Saudi League midfielder; rotation option for Deschamps.
At 35 he is the oldest outfield player in the France squad — his fourth World Cup, having been on the 2018-winning team.