The meeting between Iceland and France took place in the cold at the Laugardalsvöllur in Reykjavik, for the 8th day of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Deprived of Kylian Mbappé, injured against Azerbaijan a few days earlier (3-0), Didier Deschamps chose to reshuffle his eleven. The French coach had aligned an unprecedented 4-2-3-1 with Jean-Philippe Mateta at the forefront, supported by Thauvin, Olise and Nkunku, while Camavinga and Koné occupied the midfield. Opposite, the Icelanders of Haraldsson, captain for the occasion, counted on a compact and disciplined block to thwart French ambitions. The start of the match had started well for the Blues.
Iceland
2
39'
V. Pálsson
70'
K.Hlynsson
France
2
63'
C.Nkunku
68'
J. Mateta
finished
In the 2nd minute, Nkunku almost opened the scoring from a corner from Olise, but his left-footed shot was saved at close range by Olafsson. France dominated possession, but struggled to create clear situations against a regrouped Icelandic defense. Olise's initiatives on the right wing and Digne's projections brought danger, without concrete success. Little by little, Iceland gained confidence and took advantage of French defensive inaccuracies to appear more threatening from set pieces. It was also on one of them that the match changed. In the 39th minute, Saliba conceded an avoidable foul near the corner post, and the poorly cleared ball from the following corner allowed Pálsson to push the ball into the back of the net (1-0). The Blues reacted just before the break. In added time (45th+4), Olise saw his head pushed back on the line, then Mateta saw his shot blocked at the last minute by Ellertsson. Despite this enormous double opportunity, France returned to the locker room led, frustrated, and aware of having missed its chance in a first period which it had nevertheless dominated without realizing it.
An eventful second act
When they returned from the locker room, the Blues showed a completely different face. More aggressive in the duels and sharper in their attacks, they quickly took control of the game. After several alerts, including an off-target shot from Nkunku (61st) and a spectacular scissor attempt from Thauvin (58th), deliverance had finally come. In the 63rd minute, Nkunku stood out with a superb individual number: launched from deep, he hooked Pálsson before curling an unstoppable shot into the opposite net to equalize (1-1). Buoyed by this equalization, Deschamps' men continued their domination, and Digne then forced Olafsson to make a save with a tense shot (67th). On the following action (68th), France finally took the advantage thanks to Mateta, scorer for his first start. Well served by Akliouche on the left side, the Crystal Palace striker dived at the far post to push the ball deep (1-2). But the French joy was short-lived. Barely two minutes later, Iceland took advantage of a defensive imbalance to strike again. On a perfectly executed counter, Hlynsson presented himself alone against Maignan and lobbed the French goalkeeper with a gesture full of composure (70th, 2-2).
This twist of fate had cooled French enthusiasm and restarted the game. In the process, Maignan even had a scare when he slipped during a back pass (75th), before recovering just in time to prevent Willumsson from taking advantage. In the 84th minute, Haraldsson even made the French bench shiver by intercepting a ball in the middle before serving Ellertsson on the left side. Fortunately for the Tricolores, the Icelandic midfielder's cross had been completely missed, allowing the French defense to break free and breathe a little after this heated moment. The last minutes saw France push again, without real success. In the 88th minute, after a long conservation phase, Olise delivered a cross that was a little too strong in the area, but the ball remained in the French feet. Képhren Thuram, who entered the game, then decided to try his luck with a floating shot, without much danger for Olafsson. Despite possession largely in their favor, the Blues failed to make a difference in this eventful second period, letting two precious points slip away on the icy Reykjavik pitch.
