France’s task is clear, beat Ukraine and they’ll be among the first European nations to secure a place at next summer’s World Cup. They’ve been strong in Group D so far, winning three and drawing one, including a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in their opening game.
Their only slip came last month when they let a lead slip in a 2-2 draw with Iceland. Back at the Parc des Princes, France look well set to return to winning ways, especially as they’ve won four of their last five home matches. Another victory here would confirm their place at the World Cup for the eighth time in a row.
Ukraine, meanwhile, are chasing their first World Cup qualification since 2006. They’ve won their last two qualifiers, but to stay in contention for top spot, they’ll need to extend that run with a big result in Paris. Currently second in the group, three points ahead of Iceland, Ukraine could find their real test coming on Sunday when they face Iceland in what might decide who reaches the play-offs.
France have dominated this fixture over the years, winning seven of 13 meetings and losing just once. On home soil, they’re unbeaten in six games against Ukraine.
France have scored at least twice in each of their last seven internationals and have netted after the 60th minute in all of their recent World Cup qualifiers. Ukraine, on the other hand, tend to see goals at both ends, 10 of their last 12 qualifiers have seen both teams score, but they’ve never scored more than one goal away against France.
Kylian Mbappé remains the standout player for France, with 53 international goals, nearly double the rest of the current squad combined. Interestingly, none of his last nine goals for France came before the 40th minute. For Ukraine, Ruslan Malinovskyi is the man to watch, having scored three goals in October; Ukraine have won six of the last seven matches in which he found the net.
France will be without injured PSG pair Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, while Ukraine miss key midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko due to a groin injury.
