Kingsley Coman will not play at the 2026 World Cup for France, even after one of the strongest club seasons of his career alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr. The winger helped the Saudi side lift the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League title, but manager Didier Deschamps has left him off Les Bleus' final roster.
Coman emerged as one of Ronaldo's most dynamic partners during that 2025-26 campaign. Al Nassr moved aggressively in the summer transfer window to land him from Bayern Munich as a marquee signing. With Sadio Mane anchoring the left wing, Coman was deployed on the right flank and quickly established himself as one of the league's brightest stars in his debut season with the club.
Coman's Al Nassr numbers
Across all competitions, Coman finished with 16 goals and 12 assists over 41 appearances for Al Nassr. That production made him the team's third-highest scorer and second-best playmaker. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, with 30 goals, and Joao Felix, with 26 goals, topped his scoring total, and both of those players occupied central attacking roles rather than playing out wide. That context added extra weight to the Frenchman's output from the flank.
Why Coman is not at the World Cup
Coman's absence from the 2026 World Cup comes down to a strict tactical decision by Deschamps. Despite Coman's elite form throughout the 2025-26 club season, the France boss first dropped him during the November international break, and the winger has not featured for Les Bleus since.
A primary driver behind the exclusion is France's youth movement on the flanks. Desire Doue and Michael Olise have emerged as bona fide breakout sensations over the last few seasons. Deschamps opted to round out his winger depth with younger talent like Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, and Maghnes Akliouche, ultimately freezing Coman out of the rotation.
Coman's declining minutes and friction behind the scenes also played a major factor. L'Equipe reported back in 2024 that after logging just 15 minutes during the Euros in Germany, Coman had a "miserable experience" that led him to seriously consider retiring from international duty entirely.
After being left out of the UEFA Nations League Final Four in June 2025, Coman did briefly return to the national team for the September and October international windows. He appeared against Iceland and Azerbaijan during World Cup qualifying in those windows. Ultimately, those performances failed to sway Deschamps, leaving the veteran winger off France's final World Cup roster despite his pivotal contributions to Al Nassr's title push with Ronaldo.
