Who: France vs. Ukraine
What: UEFA qualifiers for 2026 FIFA World Cup
Where: Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland
When: Friday, September 5, at 8:45pm (19:45 GMT)
Following is how we’ll prepare for our live text commentary stream on Al Jazeera Sport starting at 5:30 p.m. (16:45 GMT).
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The next two weeks of 11-weeks of preparation for the 2026 World Cup will be the focus of European football, with each game involving six games each helping determine who will win.
54 teams are participating in the European qualifying program, but 24 of them are just making their first kickoff on the first day of action on the biggest stage of football, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which will start the following year on June 11.
Les Bleus’ first game of the competition since losing an epic final to Argentina in December 2022 at the Qatar World Cup, France, the 2018 World Cup winner, kicks off its qualifying campaign for the 2026 edition against Ukraine.
Al Jazeera Sport examines the matchup between Ukraine and France and explains why so many teams are preparing to play until 2020.
Why is Poland hosting the Ukraine vs. France game?
Due to security concerns raised by the Russian military invasion, Ukraine will host the game in neutral Poland, Wroclaw.
FIFA and UEFA forbade Russia’s teams from competing in all international competitions in February 2022, the year the conflict broke out.
Why has France not yet qualified for the World Cup?
Due to the success of some of the top seeds in the 2025 Nations League, which culminated in June, France and 23 other teams are only currently enrolled in the World Cup qualifying program.
Portugal won the tournament’s 2025 final against Spain, winning 5-3 on penalties in the final.
Portugal defeated Germany in the semifinal while Spain defeated France. The rest of the qualifiers for the later stages of that competition are currently only qualifying for the World Cup.
Who else belongs to the group in Ukraine and France?
The UEFA World Cup Qualifiers’ Group D is completed by Iceland and Azerbaijan.
How do France, Portugal, and the other teams that are now enlisting in the qualifiers operate?
In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, five teams from each of the six groups are currently participating. There have already been four games played.
Each of the remaining six groups, which now includes four teams, are now in contention.
The 12 runners-up advance to the playoffs, where they will face the four best-placed Nations League teams that are currently in contention, while the top 12 teams advance directly to the finals of the summer.
Click here for a detailed explanation of the format of the playoffs’ format in our preview of Wednesday’s opening set of qualifying games.
What does France think about enlisting in the qualification right away?
Jules Kounde, a France defender, has demanded that football’s increasingly congested calendar be revised. He warns that the sport’s excessive schedule is having an impact on both players and the wider ecosystem.
Kounde said the unbroken pace of the games was weighing on ahead of France’s games against Ukraine and Iceland, which France hosts on Wednesday in Paris.
He asserted that “it’s not just about the players.” Families exist there. I also consider all the workers who frequently fall victim to this unflagging pace in the field of football.
Kounde, a Barcelona player, did not participate in this year’s expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in the United States on June 14 and 14, but the 26-year-old did make some hints about how the event might affect the already packed season.
Rayan Cherki of Manchester City and William Saliba of Arsenal both have injured themselves, and Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain missed Tuesday’s training due to a thigh injury.
In the 2024-2025 season, PSG played 65 games and reached the Club World Cup final.
He claimed that the ecosystem is “a whole”.
“Sometimes in life, we stop appreciating things when we overdo them,” said the author. We no longer give it the same importance as when we see too much. Football is experiencing overconsumption, according to the statement.
63 matches were added to the summer schedule thanks to the 32-team Club World Cup, which was met with criticism from the teams and the teams due to the increased workload.
Kounde urged football’s governing bodies to consider the current model’s long-term viability.
He said, “These are things that we need to put into perspective.” And I believe there must be some changes.
Head-to-head
France has won six games against the nations in their 13th meeting, while Ukraine only has once.
What took place during the most recent Ukraine-France game?
The last time the two teams met in a World Cup qualifier was in Kyiv in September 2021, when the game ended 1-1 draw.
Anthony Martial levelled for the French after Mykola Shaparenko gave the hosts the lead.
In Paris, the group’s reverse match ended in a 1-1 draw.
news from the Ukraine team
Anatoliy Trubin begins in goal after Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is injured.
Oleksandr Tymchyk, a late starter due to a knock, is now out of the squad.
News from the France team
In Sunday’s defeat at Liverpool, Arsenal’s defender Saliba injured his right calf.
Cherki, who was replaced by Eintract Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, also had to be forced to leave.
Dembele is anticipated to recover from his thigh issue.
Ukraine might start.
Trubin, Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matviienko, Mykolenko, Kaliuzhny, Zinchenko, Tsygankov, Shaparenko, Sudakov, Dovbyk, and others
Possible starting lineup for France
Source: Aljazeera
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