This Sunday, the French national team will play Azerbaijan in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at 8:45 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Ahead of the match, Le Parisien and L’Equipe attempted to predict the team that coach Didier Deschamps will field. A match that involves two Paris Saint-Germain players, both French: Lucas Chevalier (23-year-old goalkeeper) and Lucas Hernandez (29-year-old defender). Only Hernandez would start.
Le Parisien (4-2-3-1) –
Ekitike
Coman – Mbappé – Olise
Rabiot – Thuram
T. Hernandez – Upamecano – Saliba – Gusto
Maignan.
L’Equipe (4-2-3-1) –
Mbappé
Ekitike – Olise – Olise
Rabiot – Thuram
T. Hernandez – Upamecano – Saliba – Gusto
Maignan.
These are all very conceivable lineups, given the last few matches and the players available. But nothing is certain. Mbappé was placed on the left yesterday by RMC Sport; he has two different positions here. Deschamps has often emphasized that he’s a goalscorer; we’d rather see him up front.
Except that he’s played a lot on the wing in his career, and a role around the number 9 could be interesting. He was closer to that at the beginning of his career at Monaco and was devastating. He likes to drop back anyway. However, let’s wait for the defensive balance. The same goes for him playing on the left. A flank where it would be a bit strange to see Ekitike, when he’s usually in the center. It’s still a possible attempt at adaptation. It’s difficult to know before the official announcements tonight.
In any case, France is expected to win in style against this modest team. It will require real quality of play, pace, spectacle, and work for the future. Not to mention efficiency in order to win, which is never a given.
