Presentation of the France vs. Azerbaijan match
France will look to continue its perfect start to 2026 World Cup qualifiers when it hosts Azerbaijan in Group D on Friday evening.
The French team is comfortably at the top of the group with six points from the first two matches, while Azerbaijan is in last place with only one point so far, two points behind Iceland, which is in second place.
Although Didier Deschamps’ side were not at their best in September, they managed to make it two wins in a row, beating Ukraine 2-0 before coming from behind to beat Iceland 2-1.
Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barkula scored on the day after Andre Gudjohnsen had given Iceland an early lead.
The French had faced Azerbaijan only twice before, during the qualifiers for Euro 1996, and they won both matches easily, 2-0 and 10-0 respectively.
As for Azerbaijan, it started its qualifying campaign in a difficult way with a 5-0 defeat against Iceland. However, they showed improvement soon after, drawing with Ukraine 1-1 four days later. The result gave them their first point of the season, although they were still positioned at the foot of Group D.
Head coach Aykhan Abbasov, who currently manages Samaxi FK, remains in a caretaker position following the departure of Fernando Santos earlier in the year. Santos’s spell in charge resulted in just two wins in 11 matches, with Azerbaijan’s last official win coming almost two years ago, in November 2023.
They will need to pull off a major upset to achieve anything at the Stade de France, although their spirited performance against Ukraine may give them confidence ahead of this tough away test.
Team news for the France vs Azerbaijan match
France will have to do without Aurelien Chouamini, who is serving a suspension after receiving a red card in the 2-1 win over Iceland. Injuries also ruled out Bradley Barkola, Marcus Thuram and Ousmane Dembélé, forcing Deschamps to make several changes.
Adrien Rabiot is expected to slot into midfield, while Kingsley Coman could get the chance to start out wide. Michael Olise may also feature in a more advanced role alongside Kylian Mbappé and Hugo excited.
For Azerbaijan, there are unlikely to be any big surprises in the selection. Their attacking hopes depend largely on Rinat Dadashov and Mahir Emreli, who have scored ten international goals between them.
The team’s top scorer, Amin Mahmudov (14 goals), is expected to play his 55th international match, and Anatoly Nureyev should also start.
The expected lineup for the France vs. Azerbaijan match
France: Mognan. Where, Saliba, Obacano, Hibanandez; Rabbit, Connie; Koopman, Ulysses, Eleven; mbappepe
Azerbaijan: Mammad Aliyev; Dashdamirov, Badalov, Mustafazadeh, Krivotsyuk, Aliyev; Khaybulaev, Mahmudov, Nureyev; Imreli, Dadashov
How to watch France and Azerbaijan: TV channel, stream online
The match will take place at Stade de France on Friday 10 October, with the match scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm GMT.
Fans in the UK can watch the match live on Viaplay Sports (subscription required), while a live stream will also be available via the Viaplay app or website. Coverage is expected to begin approximately half an hour before kick-off.
France and Azerbaijan match statistics
- France made a perfect start to qualifying with Two wins out of two
- Their latest run in all competitions reads LWLWWW
- I only picked up Azerbaijan One point From the opening qualifiers
- Their final form stands at LLDLLD
- The two sides have just met Twice beforeboth during Euro 1996 qualifiers, where France won 2-0 and 10-0.
prediction
France will be missing several key players, and Azerbaijan may look to frustrate them with a defensive approach. However, the gap in quality between the two sides is wide, and France should have enough attacking talent to pick up another three points without too much trouble.
Prediction: France 2-0 Azerbaijan
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