Overview
Azerbaijan extended their winless streak on all fronts to 14 matches, as their fragile hopes of qualifying for the World Cup officially ended with a lackluster performance against Iceland in Baku.
There was still a chance to compete for a top two spot in the play-off round, but the home team played disjointedly, while Iceland played enthusiastically and won all 3 points.
Azerbaijan has failed to score in 3 consecutive qualifiers and is currently at the bottom of the table, behind Iceland and Ukraine - in second and third place respectively - 6 points with only one match left. That means the home team has known their fate before the final match.
This team has not won in the last 14 matches in both friendly and official matches. Their most recent victory came in June 2024, when they beat Kazakhstan - one of UEFA's weakest teams - 3-2 at Haladas Stadium in Hungary.
Under coach Aykhan Abbasov, Azerbaijan entered this match with the most realistic goal of avoiding a second consecutive defeat to the 2022 World Cup runners-up. In the first leg in October, France easily defeated them 3-0 at Parc des Princes.
It is no surprise that France qualified for next year's World Cup in North America after a convincing 4-0 victory over Ukraine in Paris. In particular, Kylian Mbappe shined brilliantly with a double, closer to the team's scoring record.
The Real Madrid star has reached 400 goals in his career, while raising Les Bleus' scoring record to 55 goals. At the age of 26, Mbappe is only 57 goals away from the record of the greatest striker in the history of the French national team, Olivier Giroud, exactly 2 goals.
The victory over Ukraine also extended France's unbeaten streak to 6 matches in all competitions (5 wins, 1 draw). Coach Didier Deschamps' team has 13 points in Group D of the UEFA qualifiers, 6 points more than Iceland and Ukraine with only one more match left.
Les Bleus' goal now is to end the qualifying campaign with an unbeaten record, while improving their away performance after a disappointing draw against Iceland in October.
This training session also witnessed the notable return of N'Golo Kante, who is playing outstandingly in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Ittihad. The two-time Premier League champions midfielder aims to add a second World Cup title to his collection next summer.
Personnel situation
After failing to score against Iceland in the previous match, Azerbaijan is likely to make some adjustments in attack.
Accordingly, players such as Tural Bayramov and Khayal Aliyev could be left out of the starting lineup, giving way to Rustam Akhmedzade.
On the other hand, after securing a ticket to the World Cup, France can make a series of changes in the match in Baku.
Les Bleus will be forced to change at least one position when Roma midfielder Kouadio Kone receives a yellow card and is suspended after the win over Ukraine.
Unable to feature in the most recent match, Eduardo Camavinga was returned to Real Madrid after suffering a minor thigh problem.
Scoring the first goal for France in the previous match, Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool) is likely to start in the match against Azerbaijan, especially when Mbappe has withdrawn due to injury.
Expected lineup:
Azerbaijan: Bayramov, Badalov, Mustafazade, Krivotsyuk, Huseynov, Makhmudov, Khaybulaev, Abbasov, Akhmedzade, Aliyev, Akhundzade.
France: Chevalier, gustate, Konate, Saliba, L. Hernandez, Zaire-Emery, Kante, Nkunku, Cherki, Barcola, Ekitike.
The match between Azerbaijan and France takes place at 0:00 on November 17 (Vietnam time).
