While 10 national teams (Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Argentina, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Brazil and Ecuador) qualified for the 2026 World Cup by joining the three host countries, Canada, the United States and Mexico, half of the European selections have not yet started their eliminations … The French team, which played the Final Four of the Nations League at the start of the month, has an appointment on September 5 for its first match against Ukraine, in Wroclaw (in Poland).
Defining the Entrance Ukrainians, in a stadium probably acquired in the Ukrainian cause (there are more than 5 million Ukrainians in Poland since the war) is not good news. It is obviously the team of the second hat of the draw for the playoffs in the Europe zone and the Blues of Kylian Mbappé will be much more serene against Iceland and Azerbaijan, the other two opponents.
Ukraine is carried by a “golden generation” which has certainly failed in Euro 2024, but which gains in maturity over the European seasons. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ruslan Malinovskyi are no longer the only referenced players, the guards Anatoliy Trubin and Andriy Lunin, the central defender Illya Zabarnyi (approaching at PSG), the left lateral Vitaliy Mykolenko, the new phenomenon of the shakhtar Georgiy Sudakov or the scorer Artem Dovbyk are weapons of weight.
France is falling on Ukraine twice
The French team will act as favorite against the Ukrainians but Didier Deschamps remembers very well the last two results against this team: two draws in 2021, during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. After a 1-1 draw at the Stade de France (Antoine Griezmann opened the score before an equalization of Serhii Sydorchuk), Hugo Lloris and his teammates kyiv during a second 1-1 draw. Anthony Martial had equalized after a cannon shot by Mykola Shaparenko.
The Blues certainly had another face (and were therefore not yet vice-world champions 2022). While Kylian Mbappé was forfeited, Karim Benzema only came into play. Aurélien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot formed the midfield with Paul Pogba. The tricolor central hinge was made up of Kurt Zouma and Presnel Kimpembe, with Léo Dubois and Lucas worthy side … The French team has a much more extensive workforce today (if injuries save the best players) but has no right to make mistakes on the 2026 World Cup path. The first 12 will be qualified, the second will play the dams.
