France held by Iceland and loses perfect record in qualifying for World Cup
By Canadian Press on October 13, 2025.
France missed a chance to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup on Monday after being held to 2-2 at Iceland.
The result in Reykjavik halted France’s perfect start in European qualifying after three straight victories. The two-time world champion could have sealed qualification if it had beaten Iceland and Ukraine failed to defeat Azerbaijan. Ukraine won 2-1.
Runner-up at the
2022 World Cup, France still leads Group D with 10 points, three more than Ukraine.
Switzerland also had a chance to secure a World Cup spot but it couldn’t manage more than 0-0 at Slovenia.
Switzerland would have qualified if it had beaten Slovenia and Kosovo failed to defeat Sweden. Kosovo won 1-0.
In other results, Germany won at Northern Ireland 1-0, Slovakia beat Luxembourg 2-0 and North Macedonia drew with Kazakhstan 1-1. Belgium won at Wales 4-2 with a pair of goals by Kevin de Bruyne.
France was without captain Kylian MbappĂ©, who scored in the team’s 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan on Friday
but limped off the field with a right ankle injury.
The 2026 World Cup will be in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is the first with an expanded field of 48 teams, up from 32.
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AP soccer:
https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
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