Sports Mole previews Monday’s World Cup qualification match between Iceland and France, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
France will be aiming to make it four wins from their four matches in Group D when they continue their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a clash against Iceland on Monday.
Didier Deschamps‘s side are top of the section, boasting nine points from three matches, while Iceland are third, one point behind second-placed Ukraine in the battle for a playoff spot.
Match preview
Iceland opened their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a 5-0 victory over Azerbaijan, but they lost 2-1 to 10-man France last month before going down 5-3 at home to Ukraine on Friday night.
The defeat to Ukraine was a real setback, but they are still within touching distance of the playoff spot, sitting third in the table, one point behind the team currently in second position.
Iceland famously qualified for the 2018 World Cup, being eliminated in the group stage, but they were not present at the 2022 edition of the tournament.
Arnar Gunnlaugsson’s side will travel to Azerbaijan and then host Ukraine in their final two games in the section next month, and anything against France on Monday evening would be a real bonus.
Iceland are chasing history in this match, as they have never beaten France, losing 12 and drawing four of their previous 16 matches against the Blues dating back to 1957.
France have won each of their last three games against Iceland, including a 2-1 success in the reverse game last month, with Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola both on the scoresheet.
Neither Mbappe nor Barcola will be available this time around, though, and head coach Deschamps must find a way to win without a number of important players.
The Blues will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan, with Mbappe, Adrien Rabiot and Florian Thauvin on the scoresheet, and the result make it nine points from three matches in Group D.
France are the overwhelming favourites to top this particular section, and they must be considered among the favourites for the trophy next year considering the strength of their squad.
Les Bleus are two-time world champions, lifting the trophy in 1998 and 2018, while they were famously runners-up in 2022, losing an incredible final to Argentina on penalties.
Iceland World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
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Iceland form (all competitions):
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France World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
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France form (all competitions):
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Team News
Iceland will be without the services of Andri Gudjohnsen against France through suspension, which is a major blow considering that the striker has scored 10 times in 36 caps for his country.
As a result, there could be a spot in the final third of the field for Daniel Gudjohnsen.
Head coach Gunnlaugsson is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack on Monday, with Victor Palsson and Albert Gudmundsson again set to be among the starters.
As for France, Mbappe and Ibrahima Konate will both miss out, with the pair set to return to Real Madrid and Liverpool respectively due to injury problems.
Mbappe has an ankle issue, while Konate has a thigh problem, and neither will be involved here; France also have more notable absentees in the shape of Barcola, Marcus Thuram, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele.
Aurelien Tchouameni is also again suspended for France, meaning that Rabiot should keep his spot in midfield, while Jean-Philippe Mateta could be in line for his full international debut at centre-forward.
Iceland possible starting lineup:
Olafsson; Palsson, Ingason, Gretarsson, Ellertsson; Gudmundsson, Johannesson, Haraldsson; Magnusson, D Gudjohnsen, Thorsteinsson
France possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, T Hernandez; K Thuram, Rabiot; Coman, Olise, Ekitike; Mateta
We say: Iceland 1-2 France
France will be missing a number of important players on Monday, and we are expecting this to be a tricky match for Deschamps’s side, but they should still be able to navigate their way to all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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