France's World Cup qualification group confirmed
France secured their place in the final four of the UEFA Nations League thanks to a penalty shoot-out win over Croatia (2-0, agg. 2-2, pens 6-4) at the Stade de France on Sunday. It is a result that also has implications for their FIFA World Cup qualifying group.
The Nations League win over Croatia not only sets up a date with Spain in the semi-final of the competition in June, but it also means that France's qualification group is confirmed. Les Bleus have been placed in a group with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Of the three, Ukraine (25th in the FIFA rankings) are the highest-ranked of France's upcoming opponents, then comes Iceland (70th) and finally Azerbaijan (117th). France will get their campaign underway with an away trip against Ukraine (likely to be played at a neutral ground) on 5th September with the final match of the campaign away to Azerbaijan on 16th November.
Les Bleus will be looking to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in what is confirmed to be Didier Deschamps' final tournament in charge of Les Bleus. By the time he leaves the post, he will have been in charge of the national team for 14 years.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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