Ukraine vs France: World Cup qualifiers – teams, start, lineups

Who: Ukraine vs France
What: UEFA qualifiers for 2026 FIFA World Cup
Where: Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw successful Wroclaw, Poland
When: Friday, September 5, astatine 8:45pm (19:45 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll person each the build-up connected Al Jazeera Sport from 5:45pm (16:45 GMT) successful beforehand of our unrecorded substance commentary stream.

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European football’s absorption switches to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup for the adjacent 2 weeks, but that is lone the opening of an 11-week play successful which six games each volition beryllium played to assistance determine who advances to the tournament.

The European qualifying programme involves 54 teams but 24 of them are lone kicking a shot for the archetypal clip connected their intended roadworthy to play connected football’s biggest signifier successful the United States, Canada and Mexico starting adjacent twelvemonth connected June 11.

France, the 2018 World Cup winner, starts its qualifying run for the 2026 variation distant against Ukraine successful Les Bleus’ archetypal crippled successful the contention since losing an epic last against Argentina successful December 2022 astatine the Qatar World Cup.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look astatine Ukraine’s crippled against France and explains wherefore truthful galore of the teams are lone joining qualifying now.

Why is Ukraine vs France being played successful Poland?

Ukraine volition big that crippled successful Wroclaw successful neutral Poland due to the fact that of information concerns astatine location during the Russian subject invasion.

Russia’s teams were banned by UEFA and FIFA from each planetary competitions successful February 2022 erstwhile the warfare began.

Why person France not played immoderate World Cup qualifiers yet?

France, on with 23 different teams, are lone joining the qualifying programme for the World Cup present owed to the advancement of immoderate of the apical seeds successful the 2025 Nations League, which culminated successful June.

Portugal were crowned champions arsenic they bushed Spain 5-3 connected penalties successful the 2025 last successful this year’s final.

Spain overcame France successful the semifinal, portion Portugal bushed Germany. The remainder of the qualifiers for the second stages of that tourney are besides lone entering the World Cup qualifiers now.

Paris Saint-German Desire Doue, left, is caller from his club’s UEFA Champions League triumph past play and is portion of the caller procreation of France stars [Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters]

Who other is successful Ukraine and France’s group?

Iceland and Azerbaijan implicit Group D of the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers.

How bash the qualifiers enactment for France, Portugal and the different teams joining the qualifiers now?

There are already six groups nether mode successful the European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, comprising 5 teams each. Four rounds of games person already been played.

The further six groups entering qualifying present are made up of 4 teams each.

The apical teams from the 12 groups beforehand straight to adjacent summer’s finals, portion the 12 runners-up spell into playoffs wherever they volition beryllium joined by the 4 best-placed Nations League sides that don’t suffice astatine this stage.

For much connected the format of the playoffs, click here to work our afloat breakdown successful our preview of Wednesday’s archetypal acceptable of qualifiers astatine this stage.

What are France’s thoughts connected joining the qualification now?

France defender Jules Kounde has called for a reassessment of football’s progressively congested calendar, informing that the sport’s excessive docket is affecting not lone players but the broader ecosystem astir the game.

Speaking up of France’s games against Ukraine and Iceland, who the French big successful Paris connected Wednesday, Kounde said the relentless gait of fixtures was taking a toll.

“It’s not conscionable astir the players,” helium said. “There are families. I besides deliberation astir each the radical who enactment astir shot and who are sometimes victims of this relentless pace.”

France’s Jules Kounde, left, and Mbappe observe aft the Nations League quarterfinal against Netherlands successful March [Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters]

Kounde, who plays for Barcelona, did not diagnostic successful this year’s expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which ran from June 14 to July 13 successful United States, but the 26-year-old inactive hinted astatine the tournament’s interaction connected the already packed season.

Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki and Arsenal’s William Saliba person pulled retired of the treble header with wounded portion Paris Saint-Germain guardant Ousmane Dembele missed grooming connected Tuesday due to the fact that of a thigh injury.

PSG, who reached the Club World Cup final, played 65 matches successful the 2024-25 season.

“It’s a full ecosystem,” helium said.

“Sometimes successful life, erstwhile we overdo things, we halt appreciating them. When we spot excessively much, we nary longer springiness it the aforesaid importance. That’s what’s happening with shot – it’s overconsumption.”

The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup added 63 matches to the summertime schedule, prompting disapproval from players and clubs implicit fatigue and wounded risks.

Kounde urged football’s governing bodies to bespeak connected the semipermanent sustainability of the existent model.

“These are things we request to enactment into perspective,” helium said. “And I deliberation they request to change.”

Head-to-head

This is the 13th gathering betwixt the countries with France winning connected six occasions portion Ukraine person won lone once.

What happened successful the past Ukraine-France match?

The sides past met successful a World Cup qualifier successful September 2021 successful Kyiv with the lucifer ending successful a 1-1 draw.

Mykola Shaparenko gave the location broadside the pb but Anthony Martial levelled for the French.

The reverse fixture successful the radical besides ended successful a 1-1 gully successful Paris.

Ukraine squad news

Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin misses retired owed to wounded truthful Anatoliy Trubin starts successful goal.

Defender Oleksandr Tymchyk is simply a precocious withdrawal from the squad owed to a knock.

France squad news

Defender Saliba sustained a musculus wounded successful Arsenal’s decision astatine Liverpool connected Sunday.

Manchester City’s Cherki has besides been forced to retreat owed to a sound with Eintract Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike taking his place.

Dembele is expected to shingle disconnected his thigh problem.

Ukraine imaginable starting lineup

Trubin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviienko, Mykolenko; Kaliuzhny, Zinchenko; Tsygankov, Shaparenko, Sudakov; Dovbyk

France imaginable starting lineup

Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Konate, T Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Olise, Dembele, Thuram; Mbappe