World Cup 2026: France head North to See Off Iceland

Iceland vs France

World Cup 2026 hopefuls France head up to Reykjavik on Monday, hoping to further cement their place at the finals in Canada, Mexico, and the USA next year. 

Didier Deschamps’ side won against Azerbaijan on Friday, and a 3-0 win gave Les Bleus a five-point lead over Ukraine in Group D, and six ahead of their next opponents, Iceland. Arnar Gunnlaugsson was appointed Iceland boss in January, and he’s had a baptism of fire. and he knows that a defeat to France on Monday would end his team’s hopes of topping the group.    

Iceland lost 5-3 at home to Ukraine on Friday, and they now face a team that the World Cup 2026 betting odds say should be in the World Cup final next summer. 

As autumn arrives in France, and temperatures in the south of the country settle around 20 degrees for a few weeks, the travelling fans will be greeted by a chilly nine degrees in Iceland. But while the weather in Iceland is cold, I expect the action in Reykjavik to be white hot.

 

Talking Points

Iceland on a rebuild

On an Island of fewer than 400,000 people, the Icemen won the hearts of many a football fan with their heroics at Euro 2016. It was the first major tournament Iceland had qualified for, and they defied all the odds by reaching the quarter-finals, navigating a group which contained Portugal, Austria, and Hungary before shocking England with a 2-1 victory in the Round of 16. They bowed out in a quarter-final against the hosts, France, but then, Iceland were at it again two years later, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in their history.

It was a golden age for football in Iceland, and nobody will forget the iconic thunderclap of their travelling fans, as they roared on players like former Burnley winger Johan Berg Gudmundsson, who has 99 caps, and Everton favourite Gylfi Sigurdsson, now 36 and playing in Reykjavik, who scored 27 goals in 83 internationals.

Gunnlaugsson is the man tasked with bringing on the next generation. But right now, he needs his big players to perform. Fiorentina striker Albert Gudmundsson, who scored twice in the loss to Ukraine to make it 11 goals in 42 games, will try to stretch the France defence, while Brentford keeper Hakon Valdimarsson is sure to be a busy man.

 

Mbappe closes in on Giroud’s record

Alongside the likes of Spain, Germany, and Italy, Les Bleus will be flying the European flag in North America next year, and Real Madrid megastar Kylian Mbappe is one man you can count on making more than his fair share of World Cup 2026 highlights. And the 26-year-old, now in the prime of his career, was the man making the headlines in the 3-0 victory over a tricky Azerbaijan side.

He scored a goal and made an assist to make it 52 international strikes, and he’s closing in on the France record of 57 scored by Olivier Giroud. He showed his quality when he found a yard of space to fire home in the first half and then, after Hugo Ekitike, who had set up the opener, had struck a post, Mbappe crossed for Adrien Rabiot to head home the second.

Mbappe was substituted late on and looked to be nursing a niggle, and his replacement, Florian Thauvin, scored a brilliant third. Mbappe will be assessed on Sunday, and if Deschamps plays it safe to rest the Madrid man, Thauvin or Christopher Nkunku, now at AC Milan, could be in line for a start in Iceland.

 

History

France are two-time world champions, the last time in 2018, and they only surrendered their crown when they lost a penalty shootout to Argentina in Qatar in 2022. Iceland appeared at the World Cup finals for the first time in 2018, exiting at the group stage, but they did hold Argentina to a 1-1 draw on the way.

Of the six meetings between these two nations, there have been five France wins and a draw. Back in September, Les Bleus beat Iceland 2-1 with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola, with a reply from Blackburn Rovers forward Andri Gudjohnsen.

With five wins and a loss in six games, and four wins on the bounce, Deschamps’ men come into the game banging in form. Iceland have suffered four losses while winning two of their last six.

 

Betting Tip

With France at SBOTOP odds of 1.24, the draw at 6.87, and an Iceland win at 12.75, we expect Les Bleus to take another three points to end their hosts’ slim chances of finishing top of Group D and keep Ukraine at arm’s length.

And with hosts scoring and conceding for fun, they whacked Azerbaijan 5-0 before meeting Les Bleus in September, I’m hoping for a goal fest.

   

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