France is heading towards the 2026 World Cup. After a success in Ukraine and a deserved victory against Iceland at the Parc des Princes, the Blues were back in Paris this Friday to face Azerbaijan as part of the third day of qualifying for the next World Cup. Faced with the last of his group, Didier Deschamps' gang should not have too much difficulty winning the match in front of his audience. However, things took longer to settle. Arriving with a four-man attack consisting of Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé and Hugo Ekitike, France wasted no time creating numerous chances. With attacks coming from the right and a very offensive Malo Gusto, the Blues waited until the 10th minute to arm their first strike which came from the foot of the player trained at OL. More dynamic after a sluggish first quarter of an hour, the teammates of a mocked Adrien Rabiot pushed to open the scoring without really succeeding. Ultimately, the solution came from the captain. Leggy and more and more inspired as the minutes passed, Kylian Mbappé resolved the situation after a superb sequence which hit the mark in the area (1-0, 45+2nd).
Upon returning from the locker room, French domination increased. Confiscating the ball from their opponents, the Blues pushed to make the break. This second goal could have come from the foot of Hugo Ekitike. Much sharper than in the first period, the Liverpool striker accelerated before arming a cross shot from the right which hit Magomedaliyev's right post (49th). And after a great offensive from Kylian Mbappé (65th), the break goal came from a former Marseillais. Whistled since the start of the match, Adrien Rabiot protected France with a beautiful header from a precise cross from Mbappé (2-0, 69th). Making numerous changes, Didier Deschamps saw his newcomers bring fluidity to his game. After the inspired action of Maghnes Akliouche (73rd), the third French goal came from a returning player of choice. Taking advantage of Mbappé's ankle injury, Florian Thauvin came to sign his return with a wonderful goal a few minutes after his entry. On a cross from Theo Hernandez, the Lensois controlled before deceiving the opposing goalkeeper with a nice volley (3-0, 84th). The score has no longer changed and the Blues have therefore achieved a third success in as many matches and qualification for the next World Cup could even be achieved in the event of success on Monday in Iceland.
