Ahead of appearing at his first World Cup with France, Malo Gusto discusses his memories of the past two tournaments and explains his pride at representing his nation on the biggest stage of all.

Gusto will hope to follow in the footsteps of four former Bleus who won the greatest prize in football while playing for Chelsea: Frank Leboeuf, Marcel Desailly, N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud.

We spoke to Gusto before he set off for North America to help France try to win their third World Cup, and he recalled how he felt to watch Didier Deschamps’ side triumph in Russia eight years ago.

‘I celebrated as a kid with many stars in my eyes,’ said Gusto in an exclusive interview you can watch in full above.

‘I was proud of my country and proud of the team. Now I’m very, very proud to play for this team and hopefully play at the World Cup.

‘It’s been a dream for me since I started playing football.’

France's 2026 World Cup group stage fixtures

France vs Senegal
Group I
New York New Jersey Stadium
Tuesday 16 June
8pm (UK)

France vs Iraq
Group I
Philadelphia Stadium
Monday 22 June
10pm (UK)

Norway vs France
Group I
Boston Stadium
Friday 26 June
8pm (UK)