France: Akliouche plays provider as France draw with Iceland
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup will have to wait until November for France, as their Group C match in Iceland ended in a two-all draw. Read more about Les Bleus' game in our report.
A nervy start
With a raft of players -- including the PSG trio of Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué -- absent this match had all the makings of a tricky encounter, and so it proved, as France struggled to show much in attack and eventually were unable to earn more than a point. The absence of the aforementioned three players, as well as Kylian Mbappé, would mean a starting roles for the recently recalled Florian Thauvin (RC Lens) on the left, as well as former Lyon and Le Havre striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The first half was marked by few chances, but Christopher Nkunku (2') had perhaps the best of them, his header being finely saved from a corner. From there, France dominated play, but given their lack of experience in attack, their chances went begging more often than not. Iceland failed to be dangerous themselves, however, until a free kick near the byline. After it was driven in low, France struggled to clear and Viktor Palsson prodded the ball home to give the hosts an undeserved lead that they would take into halftime, needing a clearance off the line after Mateta's close range effort in added time.
⏰ 64’: Subbed on
⏰ 68’: First assist for France
Game changer. Maghnes Akliouche. 🇫🇷💎 pic.twitter.com/keHyec3T4l— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 13, 2025
THREE goals in TEN minutes
Having been involved in a pair of chances before the break, Thauvin pressed to bring his team the equalizer and nearly did so on two occasions after the restart, including a spectacular scissor kick effort. Just minutes later, France would (finally) have their goal, as Nkunku, playing wide on the left, broke into the box and found the bottom corner to make it one-all just past the hour.
The bit between their teeth, France pushed to take the lead, and manager Didier Deschamps made several changes after his side had scored, including bringing on Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche. The move immediately paid dividends as the Principality youngster held off two defenders to play in an inch-perfect low ball for Mateta (68'). France were ahead but unfortunately not for long as a mix-up in defence for Les Bleus saw Iceland perfectly spring the offside trap ahead of Kristian Hylnsson's equalizer (71').
Despite Kingsley Coman and Hugo Ekitiké coming on late on for the visitors, France were no closer to scoring a third, and will now have to pick up one more win against Ukraine in November to seal their place in the United States next summer.
