William Saliba and France missed the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup on Monday, but they remain very close to doing so.
Arsenal centre-back William Saliba started for France away to Iceland on Monday night, with the team knowing World Cup qualification was a possibility with a win.
If France picked up all three points and Ukraine didn’t (either drawing or losing to Azerbaijan), then Didier Deschamps’ side would be guaranteed top spot and automatic qualification for next summer’s tournament.
Yet any hopes of an easy evening were put to rest as Victor Palsson gave Iceland the lead in the 39th minute.
France rallied and scored two goals in the 63rd and 68th minutes to briefly lead the contest, but just two minutes later Kristian Hlynsson made it 2-2 after pouncing on a counter-attacking opportunity.
With Ukraine winning their match, even victory for France on the night wouldn’t have been enough to confirm top spot.
But the team remain in a very strong position ahead of the final two games, three points ahead of Ukraine with a superior goal difference.
A draw between the two teams on November 13th would effectively confirm France’s automatic qualification, but not mathematically. It would still technically be possible for France to lose against Azerbaijan and Ukraine to win against Iceland with a goal difference swing of five.
So only a win over Ukraine will ensure that France can go into their final group game without anything to worry about.