The French team qualified on Thursday 13 November for the 2026 World Cup after beating Ukraine. The meeting took place ten years after the attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis.
A minute’s silence was observed at the Parc des Princes before the 2026 World Cup qualifying meeting. The French players and management also wore the badges of the Fondation du Bleuet de France, which helps veterans, war victims and their families.
Led by its superstar Kylian Mbappé, author of the double and hero of the match, the French team succeeded in its mission. Didier Deschamps’ players needed success to ensure their presence at the World Cup, held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and they fulfilled their contract perfectly one day before the end of the qualifying campaign.
On that fateful night, the rescue inevitably came from the hands of a major player. As a symbol and while France were trapped in a sterile and insipid domination, it was captain Mbappé who once again turned out to be the savior by converting a penalty after the break for Taras Mykhavko’s foul on Michael Olise (55). His panenka, then his goal scored from close range (83rd), which took his team to the World Cup, will inevitably still go down in history.
N.10 is precisely there, strengthening his aura even more and getting closer, with 55 goals in 94 selections, to the record of Olivier Giroud (57).
Michael Olise, scoring his fourth tally in 13 appearances in blue (76), and Hugo Ekitike who opened his account at international level (88), also took part in the celebration.
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Therefore, the trip to Azerbaijan on Sunday will go smoothly and will no doubt allow the coach to give some game time to the substitutes. The 57-year-old technician can already look forward to his seventh and final phase and enjoy his perfect form, having not missed a single tournament since his appointment in 2012.
Before handing over, perhaps to icon Zinédine Zidane, the favorite to replace him, Deschamps will try to immortalize his legend by bringing back a third star for French football. He will first pay attention to the draw scheduled for December 5 in Washington, which will determine France’s opponents in the first round.
The young Blues showed their fangs
The search for the prized sesame for the next World Cup will ultimately be quite easy in a group that is largely within reach of Kylian Mbappé and the gang.
Despite being faced with a series of injuries in every meeting, France did not need to strain their talents to qualify from Group D without real opponents as big as them (Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan). With a squad constantly being overhauled, especially in attack, they were sluggish at times and never truly flamboyant, but importantly remained safe.
This one-off match against Ukraine was an exception to the rule. The Tricolor team was expected to win the match, the arrival of Ukraine has evoked memories of the return of the play-offs on 19 November 2013 for accession to the 2014 World Cup, a decisive match for the coach (3-0).
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If before Mbappé’s penalty, his players had rarely been at their best, failing to make the Parc des Princes shake, the captain’s opening score opened the door wide and the offensive element gave everything after the break.
In the absence of three strong players in attack (Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Marcus Thuram), Deschamps entrusted the animation of the game to Rayan Cherki in the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been the Blues’ preferred pattern since the start of the year.
The contribution of the former Lyonnais, who made a very promising debut at Manchester City and only celebrated his third selection at the age of 22, was generally quite poor, a far cry from his brilliant international display in the Nations League semi-final against Spain last June (a 5-4 defeat with one goal and one assist).
But what difference did it make to Deschamps who was able to rely on the long-limbed Bradley Barcola, the biting Ekitike after his introduction and the still equally valuable Olise, a youngster led to perfection by the great Mbappé. So many assets in the coach’s bag ahead of the World Cup. Looking forward to 2026.
With AFP
