The Blues are not yet settled. Even if the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers has been made, the France team does not yet know precisely in which group it will land. Everything depends on the result of the quarter-finals of the Nations League, which will take place next March.
If the Blues eliminate Luka Modric’s Croatia in three months, they will be placed in group D. If they are beaten, it will be group L for the Tricolores. Why this system, which made it very difficult to follow the draw? To be sure that the teams involved in the Final Four of the Nations League are placed in a group of four, and not in a group of five.
Ukraine or the Czech Republic for the Blues
What menu for France then? In case of victory against Croatia, it will be Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan. In the other case, it will be the Czech Republic, Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar. Whatever happens, this will be a group well within the reach of Kylian Mbappé and his teammates.
The qualifiers will begin in June if the Blues are eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Nations League, or only in September if Didier Deschamps and his men reach the Final Four of the Nations League. Whatever happens, you will have to finish at the top of your group to get your ticket to the 2026 World Cup. The 12 second-placed groups and the 4 teams from the Nations League will compete in the play-offs.
