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France is currently ranked by FIFA as the best national team in the world.
The team has taken part in 17 World Cups and won two editions of the tournament, 20 years apart (1998 and 2018).
Morocco, meanwhile, is currently ranked as the sixth-best team in the world by FIFA. The ‘Lions of the Atlas’ have taken part in seven World Cups, but have never won the tournament.
The team’s best performance came in the most recent edition, in 2022, when they became the first African side to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
When it comes to the ‘Ballon d'Or’, France – the country that created the award – has the edge.
In Didier Deschamps’ squad for the 2026 World Cup, seven players have already been nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’, including one winner of the award.
Ballon d'Or nominees in France’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:
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Kylian Mbappé (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025)
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N’Golo Kanté (2017, 2018 and 2021)
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Mike Maignan (2022)
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William Saliba (2024)
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Ousmane Dembélé (nominated and winner in 2025)
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Désiré Doué (2025)
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Michael Olise (2025)
Dembélé is the most recent winner of the Ballon d'Or and has achieved a rare feat: he won the award on his very first nomination, having never been nominated in previous years.
The France squad also boasts three nominees for the Kopa Trophy: Mbappé (who also won the award in 2018) and Doué (nominated in 2025), as well as Warren Zaïre-Emery (nominated in 2024).
Mbappé has also been nominated three times for the Gerd Müller Trophy (in 2023, 2024 and 2025). In 2024, he shared the award with English striker Harry Kane.
In goal, two of the three players selected have also previously been nominated for the Yashin Trophy: Mike Maignan (in 2022, 2023 and 2024) and Brice Samba (in 2023).
French manager Deschamps himself is also no stranger to the award. A former French international, he received five nominations for the Ballon d'Or between 1995 and 2000.
Morocco, for its part, has only two players in its 2026 World Cup squad who have previously been nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’.
Ballon d'Or nominees in Morocco’s 2026 World Cup squad:
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Yassine Bounou (2023)
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Achraf Hakimi (2025)
Bounou has also been nominated twice for the Yashin Trophy, in 2023 and 2025.
One of the national team's brightest hopes for the future is 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was nominated for the Kopa Trophy last year. Although he represented France at youth level, he chose to play for Morocco at senior international level this year.
But despite Bouaddi's immense potential, Hakimi and Bounou remain the only Moroccans ever to have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or.
It is worth noting, however, that the award only began accepting non-European players from 1995 onwards.
The contrast with France is striking. Since the creation of the ‘Ballon d'Or’ in 1956, 79 different French players have been nominated, amassing hundreds of nominations throughout its history.
In fact, over the years, there have been only six editions in which no French player was among the nominees: 1966, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1988 and 2010.
Six French players have also won the award.
French winners of the ‘Ballon d'Or’:
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Raymond Kopa (1958)
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Michel Platini (1983, 1984 and 1985)
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Jean-Pierre Papin (1991)
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Zinédine Zidane (1998)
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Karim Benzema (2022)
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Ousmane Dembélé (2025)
Michel Platini is part of a select group: he is one of only five players in history to have won the Ballon d'Or at least three times.
Players with the most Ballon d'Or wins:
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Lionel Messi – 8
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Cristiano Ronaldo – 5
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Johan Cruyff / Marco van Basten / Michel Platini – 3
Among today’s French players, Kylian Mbappé also features amongst the award’s biggest names.
French players with the most nominations for the ‘Ballon d'Or’:
- Karim Benzema - 12
- Michel Platini / Zinédine Zidane - 11
- Thierry Henry - 9
- Kylian Mbappé - 8
- Lilian Thuram / Marcel Desailly - 7
Ballon d'Or’s track record clearly favours France.
But football is a game of surprises.
Who knows what might happen?
We’ll find out soon enough.
