Overview
The French team did not have the best form in the two World Cup qualifiers in September, but they still won all 6 points, defeating Ukraine 2-0 and Iceland 2-1.
Coach Didier Deschamps' team had to come back to over Iceland, when Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola scored in turn after Andri Gudjohnsen opened the scoring. With 2 consecutive victories, France has risen to the top of Group D.
France is a team that has won the World Cup twice (1998 and 2018) and finished second in 2022 after a dramatic defeat to Argentina on penalties. Once again, they are considered a leading candidate for next year's championship, and it will be a big shock if Les Bleus cannot qualify - something that has not happened since 1994.
In history, France have only met Azerbaijan twice, both in the EURO 1996 qualifiers, with the results of a 2-0 and 10-0 victory.
Azerbaijan started the 2026 World Cup qualifiers unsuccessfully when they lost 0-5 to Iceland on September 5. However, they have somewhat regained their spirit with a 1-1 draw with Ukraine just 4 days later.
After two matches, Azerbaijan has only won 1 point, temporarily at the bottom of Group D, 2 points behind Iceland and 5 points behind France - the team aiming for the third consecutive victory in this group.
Currently, Aykhan Abbasov, head coach of Samaxi FK, is still temporarily leading the Azerbaijan national team after Fernando Santos left the coaching position early last month.
Under Santos, Azerbaijan lost 9/11 matches, and have not won since a friendly match with Kazakhstan in mid-June. Their last official victory came in November 2023.
Despite facing many challenges in Group D, Azerbaijan still aims to get a positive result against Ukraine in the next match on October 13, thereby creating a confident mentality for the two matches in November.
Personnel situation
The French team will not have the service of Aurelien Tchouameni when the 25-year-old midfielder is suspended after receiving a red card in the win over Iceland in the previous match.
In addition, Bradley Barcola, Marcus Thuram and Ousmane Dembele are also absent due to injury, forcing Deschamps to make some adjustments to the starting lineup.
Adrien Rabiot is likely to be named in midfield, while Mbappe and Michael Olise could start alongside Kingsley Coman and Hugo Ekitike in attack.
On the other hand, Azerbaijan will almost keep the same squad that played against Ukraine. The duo Renat Dadashov and Mahir Emreli - who have scored a total of 10 goals for the national team - will continue to take on the role of attacking player.
Emin Mahmudov, the top scorer in the history of the national team with 14 goals, will aim for his 55th appearance. Meanwhile, Anatolii Nuriiev is also expected to be in the starting lineup.
Against a strong opponent like France, Azerbaijan is expected to play with a 5-defender formation. Rahman dashdamirov is likely to be given the opportunity to start on the right wing to strengthen the defense.
Expected lineup:
France: Maignan, Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez, Rabiot, Kone, Coman, Olise, Ekitike, Mbappe.
Azerbaijan: Mahammadaliyev, dashdamirov, Badalov, Mustafazada, Krivotsyuk, Aliyev, Khaybulaev, Mahmudov, Nuriiev, Emreli, Dadashov.
The match between France and Azerbaijan takes place at 1:45 am on October 11 (Vietnam time).
