For its October gathering, the French team had two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup on its program, the first of which was held on Friday evening at the Parc des Princes. Against Azerbaijan, the Blues won without convincing (3-0) and especially needed Kylian Mbappé to get on the right track. The captain of the Blues answered certain questions.
In the days preceding this match, the big discussion among specialists was whether or not it would be interesting to play the French captain for this first match, to rather preserve him for Iceland. And according to Pierre Ménès, Kylian Mbappé provided the answer by scoring and providing an assist. The observation was no less worrying for the observer, at the time of his post-match report.
On his YouTube channel, the former Channel Football Club therefore mentioned the Real Madrid striker. “The debate of the week was: Mbappé didn't train all week but just the day before the match, he played, do we really need Mbappé to beat Azerbaijan? Well unfortunately the answer is almost yes. » Arriving injured in an ankle, the Bondynois had in fact been preserved in recent days by the Blues medical staff.
“Nothing”, apart from Kylian Mbappé in the first period
Eager to play to get a little closer to Olivier Giroud's goals record for the French team (57), Kylian Mbappé confirmed the day before the match that he wanted to play. The Blues therefore took advantage of it. Nothing to rejoice Pierre Ménès in his overall analysis. “Without this flash from Mbappé in the first period, there is nothing for the Blues. There is nothing! The goalkeeper in front didn't even have an incredibly complicated save to make. »
Deprived of many injured players (Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué), Didier Deschamps did not really find satisfaction with the replacements of the day. This observation is nevertheless a snapshot which only concerns this meeting. Perhaps the Blues will offer a much more interesting face (mainly offensive) on Tuesday in Iceland. A victory would in any case allow them to validate their ticket for the 2026 World Cup.
