The head coach of France, who will be the first opponent of our national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers (September 5, Wroclaw), Didier Deschamps has made two forced changes to the squad announced last Wednesday.

In place of injured defender William Saliba of English "Arsenal," back Benjamin Pavard from Italian "Inter" has been called up by Les Bleus. He has 55 caps for France and five goals scored.

In place of injured forward Ryan Shaker of English "Manchester City," an absolute debutant, Liverpool's forward Hugo Ekitike, has been called up.

Squad of France

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan ("Milan", Italy), Lucas Chevalier ("PSG"), Brice Samba ("Rennes").

Defenders: Lucas Digne ("Aston Villa", England), Malo Gusto ("Chelsea", England), Theo Hernandez ("Al-Hilal", Saudi Arabia), Ibrahima Konate ("Liverpool", England), Jules Kounde ("Barcelona", Spain), Benjamin Pavard ("Inter", Italy), Dayot Upamecano ("Bayern Munich", Germany), Lucas Hernandez ("PSG").

Midfielders: Manu Koné ("Roma", Italy), Orel Mangane ("Real Madrid", Spain), Hakim Tchouaméni ("Juventus", Italy), Désiré D'Eliseo ("PSG"), Adrien Rabiot ("Marseille").

Forwards: Magne Aklioush ("Monaco"), Hugo Ekitike ("Liverpool", England), Kylian Mbappé ("Real Madrid", Spain), Michael Olise ("Bayern Munich", Germany), Marcus Thuram ("Inter", Italy), Bredley Barkley, Ousmane Dembélé (both — "PSG").

Reminder: The match between the national teams of Ukraine and France in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will take place on September 5 at Wroclaw's Tychy Arena. The French team will play against Iceland on September 9 at Parc des Princes in Paris.

2026 World Cup Qualifiers. UEFA Zone First Round

Group A: Germany, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg.

Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo.

Group C: Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Belarus.

Group D: France,  Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan.

Group E: Spain, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria.

Group F: Portugal, Hungary, Ireland, Armenia.

Group G: Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta.

Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino.

Group I: Italy, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova.

Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.

Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra.

Group L: Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar.

Schedule for Group D

Round 1. September 5, 2025

Ukraine — France 9:45 PM, Wroclaw

Iceland — Azerbaijan 9:45 PM, Reykjavik

Round 2. September 9, 2025

Azerbaijan — Ukraine 6:00 PM, Baku

France —Iceland 9:45 PM, Paris

Round 3. October 10, 2025

Iceland — Ukraine 9:45 PM, Reykjavik

France —Azerbaijan 9:45 PM, Paris

Round 4. October 13, 2025

Ukraine — Azerbaijan 9:45 PM

Iceland — France 9:45 PM, Reykjavik

Round 5. November 13, 2025

Azerbaijan — Iceland 6:00 PM, Baku

France —Ukraine 9:45 PM, Paris

Round 6. November 16, 2025

Ukraine — Iceland 6:00 PM

Azerbaijan — France 6:00 PM, Baku

Kyiv time.

UEFA (Europe): 16 spots.

The European zone qualification will take place from March 2025 to March 2026 and consist of two rounds. Teams will compete for 16 spots at the World Cup.

Round 1: Twelve groups with five or four teams each will play between March and November 2025 in a traditional group stage system. The twelve group winners will receive direct tickets to the final stage.

The twelve second-place finishers, along with the four best group winners from UEFA Nations League 2024/2025 who finish below second place in the European qualification group stage, will participate in mini-tournaments.

Round 2: mini-tournaments in March 2026 will consist of one-legged semi-finals and finals. The sixteen participants will be divided into four playoff paths. Four winners will receive tickets to the 2026 World Cup.

AFC (Asia): 8 spots + 1 place in intercontinental playoffs.

CAF (Africa): 9 spots + 1 place in intercontinental playoffs.

CONCACAF (North and Central America): 3 tournament hosts + 3 spots + 2 places in intercontinental playoffs.

CONMEBOL (South America): 6 spots + 1 place in intercontinental playoffs.

OFC (Oceania): 1 spot + 1 place in intercontinental playoffs.

Intercontinental Playoffs: 2 spots.

2026 World Cup Final Tournament

The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament to feature 48 national teams in its final stage. There will be twelve groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group and eight best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16.

Matches for the 23rd World Cup will take place in sixteen cities: Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey in Mexico, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle in the USA.

The opening match of the World Cup will take place on June 11, 2026, in Mexico City, while the final will be held in New York on July 19.

Final Tournament Calendar for the 2026 World Cup