Ukraine and France get their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaigns underway when they face off at the Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw on Friday 5th September at 7:45pm (UK time). The pair are in a four-team qualifying group with all matches coming across three months, with Finland and Azerbaijan filling out the remaining spots.
Draw (16/5 with Sky Bet)
Each of the past two meetings between these sides have finished level. Whilst, on paper, France have the superior squad at their disposal they have come unstuck against Ukraine in recent years and we fear the same thing could happen in this tie. Ukraine have won three of their last five games in all competitions, holding the same record as France over that period of time.
Kylian Mbappe to score anytime (57/50 with BetMGM)
Kylian Mbappe scored in both of France’s games in the June international break, improving his record to 50 goals in 90 international games. He’s also started the new season in great form, scoring three goals in three games for Real Madrid in La Liga so far.
Mbappe should start centrally in a forward line for France and that should give him plenty of opportunities to find the net against a Ukrainian defence that has shipped 10 goals in their last five games.
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How both teams go into Ukraine vs France
Ukraine are hoping to earn just a second appearance at the World Cup, after reaching the quarter-finals in 2006. Their qualifying campaign for 2022 ended in heartbreak, losing in one of the play-off finals. Ukraine started 2025 off with defeat to Belgium in the Uefa Nations League, losing the chance at promotion. Ukraine won the first leg there before succumbing to a 4-3 aggregate defeat. They then lost to Canada in a friendly but ended the June international break with a narrow win over New Zealand.
France have reached the past two World Cup Finals, winning in 2018 and losing to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in 2022. Les Bleues haven’t failed to reach the World Cup since 1994, when they actually missed two tournaments in a row. France went unbeaten in the last qualifying campaign, topping their group with five wins and three draws from eight matches. This year has been filled with the Uefa Nations League for France, with a penalty shootout win over Croatia in the two-legged quarter-finals. They then lost to Spain in the semi-final but beat Germany to secured third.
Ukraine team news
There are no surprise absentees in Ukraine’s squad, though Andriy Yarmolenko remains a big name to miss out. Anatoliy Trubin and Andriy Lunin will once again battle it out to be No.1. Taras Mykhavko, Artem Bondarenko and Oleh Ocheretko are all hoping to make their first appearance in September.
France team news
There’s a handful of changes from France’s Uefa Nations League squad in the summer. Benjamin Pavard, Clement Lenglet, Pierre Kalulu, Loic Bade, Matteo Guendouzi, Warren Zaire-Emery and Randal Kolo Muani all sit out. Kylian Mbappe is the most-capped player in the squad, with 90 senior appearances for France.
Ukraine vs France head-to-head
France are unbeaten in their past four games against Ukraine, with two wins and two draws. They drew twice in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Ukraine have won just one of the 12 meetings across all competitions, although the two nations have only played each other three times since 2013.
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 04/09/21 | Ukraine 1-1 France | World Cup qualifying |
| 24/03/21 | France 1-1 Ukraine | World Cup qualifying |
| 07/10/20 | France 7-1 Ukraine | Friendly |
| 19/11/13 | France 3-0 Ukraine | World Cup qualifying |
| 15/11/13 | Ukraine 2-0 France | World Cup qualifying |