The 'méchants' have arrived: France have a villain nickname and a 100% record at the World Cup
Mbappé revealed France's secret World Cup nickname: 'méchants'. The defenders explained the meaning behind the word — and what it says about this team.
Six games. Six wins. One hundred per cent. France arrive at the World Cup semi-finals not just with flawless numbers — but with an identity.
The nickname came from the most unexpected place: an Instagram story posted by Mbappé himself. Earlier this month, the No. 10 shared a post with a caption that read like a warning: "we arrived with menace". The word the squad uses is méchants — something between "the villains" and "the bad guys" in English.
But don't get the wrong idea. Nobody is casting themselves as a horror-movie character.
"It reflects the team's mentality. It's not something negative; it's actually positive," defender Lacroix explained, according to ge. "It serves as motivation for us, to show that we are fighters, warriors who want to leave this competition without bowing our heads."
His defensive partner Konaté added to the thought: "We have the ability to be joking around, laughing, in a relaxed atmosphere the day before a game and then completely switch to being totally serious on matchday," he told ge. That switch flips on the bus on the way to the stadium — and from that moment on, according to him, "you see everyone with a winning mentality."
The 3–0 victory over Sweden was the trigger that made Mbappé's story go viral. Since then, the nickname has stuck.
Now the méchants face Spain — on Tuesday at 16:00 Brasília time. Golmetria's model gives the Spanish a 35.13% chance of lifting the trophy, against 13.51% for France. The market also sees Spain as favourites. But France were runners-up in 2022 and champions in 2018 — and they know exactly what is at stake: a third consecutive final appearance for one of these two nations.
On the other side of the bracket, Argentina and England will decide who completes the picture in the final.
Villains or not, France are still standing. And they are making it clear they have no intention of leaving with their heads down.