Les Bleus close in on qualification

Depending on their upcoming performances in the Nations League, France will find themselves in a group of either four or five teams in their qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup, for which the draw took place on Friday.

Les Bleus are starting to see things a little more clearly, but not in their entirety just yet. Seeded in the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Friday in Zurich, the French side has been provisionally placed in two possible groups, and will find out which one they will be definitively placed in after their Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, the first leg of which will be played on March 20th in Split, with the return fixture taking place on March 23rd at the Stade de France.

Europe will be represented by 16 teams in the next World Cup, in comparison with 13 in 2022.

If Didier Deschamps' men, who currently sit 2nd in the FIFA rankings, emerge victorious from their upcoming double header against Croatia, they will find themselves in the company of Ukraine (ranked 25th), Iceland (70th) and Azerbaijan (117th) in the qualifying phase for the next World Cup which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada between June 11th and July 19th 2026.

In the event of elimination, France will find themselves in a group composed of the Czech Republic (ranked 42nd), Montenegro (73rd), the Faroe Islands (137th) and Gibraltar (197th).

Photo: Didier Deschamps and Guy Stéphan with Robert Pirès, who carried out the draw on Friday in Zurich (photo FFF).

 Two possible sets of fixtures 

If group D

• Friday September 5th 2025 : Ukraine - France (8:45 pm)
• Tuesday September 9th 2025 : France - Iceland (8:45 pm)
• Friday October 10th 2025 : France - Azerbaijan (8:45 pm)
• Monday October 13th 2025 : Iceland - France (8:45 pm)
• Thursday November 13th 2025 : France - Ukraine (8:45 pm
• Sunday November 16th 2025 : Azerbaijan - France (6:00 pm)

If group L

• Friday June 6th 2025 : Gibraltar - France (8:45 pm)
• Monday June 9th 2025 : France - Czech Republic (8:45 pm)
• Friday September 5th 2025 : Faroe Islands - France (8:45 pm)
• Monday September 8th 2025 : France - Montenegro (8:45 pm)
• Thursday October 9th 2025 : Czech Republic - France (8:45 pm)
• Sunday October 12th 2025 : France - Gibraltar (8:45 pm)
• Friday November 14th 2025 : France - Faroe Islands (8:45 pm)
• Monday November 17th 2025 : Montenegro - France (8:45 pm)

In summary

► The European zone qualifiers will begin in March 2025 and will also concern the following four international windows (June, September, October and November 2025).

► The French team does not yet know their opponents. As with all the quarter-finalists of the Nations League, they have been provisionally placed in two possible groups. The ultimate outcome will depend on the result of their double confrontation against Croatia, to be contested in March.

If they qualify, they will play in the four-team finals in June 2025 and will automatically be placed in Group D with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan. In which case, they will subsequently play their six qualifying matches in September, October and November 2025, with two matches per international window.

If they are eliminated by Croatia, they will find themselves in Group L with 4 other teams, namely Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.