France kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2–0 win over Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland. Michael Olise opened the scoring early, and Kylian Mbappé sealed the victory with a late breakaway goal.
Mbappé’s 82nd-minute strike, set up by Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni on a swift counterattack, brought his international goal tally to 51, tying him with Thierry Henry for second on France’s all-time scoring list, behind Olivier Giroud’s 57.
Olise gave France the lead in the 10th minute, finishing a pass from Bradley Barcola. Ukraine’s goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin, made several sharp saves to deny Olise a second goal and keep the scoreline from widening.
Ukraine, who started brightly with dangerous crosses, grew into the game after the hour mark. Ibrahima Konaté cleared a shot off the line from Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, and Illia Zabarnyi later hit the post. But once Mbappé broke free and scored with a low drive, Didier Deschamps’ side comfortably saw out the remaining minutes. Liverpool’s new signing, Hugo Ekitiké, made his debut as a late substitute.
Deschamps said, “We controlled the first half and could have scored again, then had a brief difficult spell, but our attacking quality shone through. With so much at stake, it’s good to start with a win.”
Mbappé agreed, adding, “We could have scored more—I missed a few chances myself—so there’s room to improve. But it’s a solid start.”
The win gives the 2018 world champions an early advantage in Group D, which also includes Iceland and Azerbaijan. France host Iceland—who beat Azerbaijan 5–0—in Paris on Tuesday, while Ukraine travel to Baku.
In other qualifying action, Italy began Gennaro Gattuso’s tenure as coach with a 5–0 home win over Estonia. After struggling to convert chances for nearly an hour, they scored five late goals to turn dominance into a rout.
Gattuso’s side entered the match under pressure following a 3–0 loss to Norway in June, which led to Luciano Spalletti’s dismissal. Italy controlled the first half but were kept out by Estonia goalkeeper Karl Hein, who made a brilliant save to tip Mateo Retegui’s header onto the bar just before halftime.
The breakthrough came just before the hour mark when Moise Kean headed in from close range after a clever back-heel from Retegui. Retegui then scored in the 69th minute with a precise finish, Giacomo Raspadori added a third a minute later with a diving header, Retegui grabbed his second late on, and Alessandro Bastoni completed the scoring in stoppage time.
Italy now look ahead to a decisive match against Israel in Hungary on Monday. After missing the last two World Cups, the four-time champions face intense domestic pressure to qualify for the upcoming tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico.To learn how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
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Italy sits third in their group with six points from three games. Norway leads with 12 points, and Israel is second with nine points after a 4-0 away win against Moldova on Friday. Both Norway and Israel have played one more match than Italy.
In Group B, Slovenia substitute Zan Vipotnik scored a 90th-minute equalizer to secure a 2-2 draw at home against Sweden in their opening qualifier. Sweden had been in control until a mistake by goalkeeper Robin Olsen. Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga gave Sweden the lead in the 18th minute after combining with Brighton’s Yasin Ayari. Slovenia equalized early in the second half when Olsen fumbled a soft shot from Sandi Lovric into the net. Ayari seemed to make up for his keeper’s error by scoring in the 73rd minute, but Slovenia fought back again. Manchester United’s Benjamin Šeško set up Vipotnik for the late equalizer. Sweden’s coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson, chose not to bring on Alexander Isak, who recently completed a British record £125 million transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool. In the same group, Switzerland began with a comfortable 4-0 win over Kosovo.
In Scotland’s group, Greece defeated Belarus 5-1 in Piraeus. Young talent Konstantinos Karetsas opened the scoring, putting Greece at the top of Group C. Their main rivals, Denmark and Scotland, played to a 0-0 draw.
The Czech Republic strengthened their lead in Group L with a 2-0 win over Montenegro, though second-place Croatia kept pace by narrowly beating the Faroe Islands 1-0.
On Friday, Morocco became the first African team to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals after a 5-0 home victory over Niger secured their place at the top of their group. With two goals from Ismael Saibari and one each from Ayoub El Kaabi, Hamza Igamane, and Azzedine Ounahi in Rabat, Morocco extended their winning streak to six games in the qualifiers. They are the only team across all nine African qualifying groups with a perfect record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful FAQs about the recent World Cup Qualifying matches including France and Italy
General World Cup Qualifying FAQs
Q What is World Cup Qualifying
A Its a series of tournaments where national teams play matches to earn a spot in the FIFA World Cup finals Not every country gets to go they have to qualify first
Q How many teams qualify from Europe
A A total of 13 European teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup
Q Why are these qualifying matches important
A Every win gives a team crucial points The teams with the most points in their groups at the end of qualifying automatically earn a World Cup spot
FAQs About France vs Ukraine
Q What was the result of the France vs Ukraine match
A France won the match The specific score was 20
Q How did Kylian Mbappé perform
A He was the star of the match He scored a goal and was a constant threat to Ukraines defense leading his team to victory
Q Why is this win significant for France
A Its a strong start to their qualifying campaign After a disappointing exit in the last World Cup final a convincing win helps build momentum and confidence
Q Was this a mustwin game for France
A Not a mustwin in the strictest sense this early on but dropping points at home against a team like Ukraine would have been a bad start Winning these games is expected for a top team
FAQs About Italys Performance
Q What does it mean that Italy hit its stride
A It means the Italian national team is starting to play very well together They looked confident organized and effective which is a great sign after a period of struggle
Q Who is Gennaro Gattuso
A Gennaro Gattuso is the new head coach of the Italian national team He was a famous toughtackling midfielder as a player most notably for AC Milan and Italy
Q Why is Italys strong start especially important
