PARIS: Injury-hit France were held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Monday, while Germany won in Northern Ireland with a Nick Woltemade goal and Belgium beat Wales to stand on the brink of a place at next year’s finals.
Meanwhile, winless Sweden were pushed to the brink of elimination as they lost 1-0 against Kosovo. In the aftermath of the disappointing campaign, Sweden sacked their coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson, for the first time in their history.
France, World Cup winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, were without a host of players in Reykjavik including captain Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, both out injured.
They fell behind to a Victor Palsson goal late in the first half, but Christopher Nkunku equalised just after the hour mark.
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta then gave Les Bleus the lead midway through the second half, getting his first senior international goal on his first start.
However, Iceland were back level almost from the restart as Kristian Hlynsson of FC Twente ran through unchallenged to make it 2-2.
France could have clinched qualification for next year’s tournament in North America with a win in Reykjavik combined with Ukraine failing to beat Azerbaijan at the same time.
But while they were dropping points, Ukraine were beating Azerbaijan 2-1 in the Polish city of Krakow — Oleksiy Hutsuliak and Ruslan Malinovskiy scored for Ukraine either side of a Vitaliy Mykolenko own goal.
France are nevertheless three points clear at the top of Group ‘D’ with two games remaining next month, and a win at home to second-placed Ukraine in Paris will wrap up top spot. Iceland stayed with four points after four matches, three more than Azerbaijan.
“We totally controlled the game. Iceland had two shots on target and scored two goals,” France coach Didier Deschamps told TFI. “But we have another point on the board and next month will be decisive.”
In Group ‘A’, Germany have now recorded three consecutive victories after beginning their campaign with a defeat in Slovakia last month.
Newcastle United forward Woltemade headed in the only goal of the game as Germany beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in Belfast, and Julian Nagelsmann’s team are top of the group with nine points.
“It was a very important three points for us,” Woltemade told Germany’s RTL, adding that “in this atmosphere and in a bit of an ugly game, you have to win and we did well”.
In the group’s other fixture, Slovakia defeated Luxembourg 2-0 as Adam Obert and Ivan Schranz scored one goal apiece at home. Slovakia sit second, only on goal difference.
The 12 group winners in European qualifying will go to the World Cup, with runners-up continuing on to play-offs set for next March — the meeting between Germany and Slovakia in Leipzig next month will therefore be decisive.
The Group ‘J’’ match saw Belgium beating Wales 4-2 in Cardiff. Belgium’s stalwart Kevin de Bruyne converted two penalties to leave his side on the verge of qualification for the next year’s final.
Play was briefly delayed after a rat entered the field as Belgium led 2-1 in the second half. The rat was spotted outside the area of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian tried to pick up the rat but it escaped. Wales forward Brennan Johnson ended up chasing it away through the sidelines as the crowd cheered.
Belgium are on the top of their group with 14 points, one more than North Macedonia and three more than Wales.
Joe Rodon had given Wales an early lead but De Bruyne’s spot-kick double came either side of a Thomas Meunier goal.
Nathan Broadhead pulled it back to 3-2, only for Leandro Trossard of Arsenal to seal Belgium’s victory at the death.
Rudi Garcia’s Red Devils — who beat Wales 4-3 at home in June — now know one win from their two games next month away to Kazakhstan and at home to Liechtenstein will clinch top spot.
On the other hand, Wales must try to catch second-placed North Macedonia, who were held 1-1 at home by Kazakhstan on Monday with Enis Bardhi replying for the hosts after Dinmukhamed Karaman’s opener.
SWITZERLAND FORCED TO WAIT
Switzerland could have qualified from Group ‘B’ with the right combination of results, but will have to wait until next month after a 0-0 draw in Slovenia.
The Swiss are now only three points clear of Kosovo, who beat Sweden in Gothenburg thanks to a solitary strike by Fisnik Asllani of Hoffenheim.
Sweden’s campaign has proven to be a disaster as they sit bottom of the section with just one point despite having Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak starting together up front — they have failed to even score in their last three matches.
Due to Sweden’s disastrous run in the qualifiers, Sweden Football Association sacked their coach Tomasson.
“The decision made by the association board is based on the fact that the men’s national team has not delivered the results we hoped for,” Swedish Football Association’s chairman Simon Astrom said in a statement.
“There is still a chance of a playoff in March and our responsibility is to ensure that we have as optimal conditions as possible to be able to reach a World Cup playoff. In this, we assess that a new leadership is required in the form of a new coach.”
Under Tomasson — who was appointed in February 2024 — the Scandinavian side lost their third consecutive match in the qualifiers.
Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025