The Blues at the 2026 World Cup won't be right away. While they had done the hardest part by overthrowing Iceland on the hour mark, on their home turf, Didier Deschamps' men were caught a few minutes later and conceded a disappointing draw (2-2). A score which does not put qualification into play, since they are still in the lead, but which forces the French not to miss each other for the last break in November, against Ukraine, second in the group and a trip to Azerbaijan.
And if Didier Deschamps cried foul after several refereeing decisions which did not please him, the Blues locker room showed frustration with this result. “We shouldn’t have conceded that first goal. Their block was very low, we still managed to score twice. We had a lack of attention. We leave with a point. These are the hazards of matches, we must not talk about the referees. We focus on us. We were able to come back to 2-1, but we weren't vigilant. We should have stayed focused after our second goal”assured Christopher Nkunku at the microphone of TF1.
Jules Koundé recognizes his mistake
With a French defense singled out at the time of Iceland's second goal and a placement error by Barcelona's Jules Koundé, which he bitterly regrets. “I haven't seen the goal again, but I have the feeling that I can do a lot better. We get pierced a little easily and afterwards, I have a bad reflex to go up, to take this step forward when I should have simply gone back. We're going to say that that's a bit like how we defend at a club and unfortunately, it's a bad reflex that is expensive. I could have done better on this goal”recognized the Catalan in the mixed zone.
“It was complicated against a team that put the bus in front of their area, especially after the goal. It was up to us to find the solutions,” also added Manu Koné, who complained of a foul on him at the time of the opponent's first goal: “I think there is a foul, he is pushing me, that means he is not playing the ball before the goal. But even if we find it a little unfair, it’s the referee’s decision.”.
