enca - 22 days ago

France aim to secure World Cup place Estelle.Bronkhorst Wed, 11/12/2025 - 13:30 PARIS - France s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Thursday will be a poignant occasion as it takes place on the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris terror attacks.A decade on, none of the France players involved that night will feature against Ukraine across the capital at the Parc des Princes, but national team coach Didier Deschamps remains in charge of Les Bleus. Deep down, I think it would have been better if we could have avoided playing on November 13, Deschamps admitted as he spoke to reporters last week to announce his squad.A minute s silence will be held ahead of kick-off to remember the victims of the attacks, and Deschamps added: There is an obligation to remember what happened, but there is a football match to be played too. The game is potentially decisive for France as they seek to secure qualification for next year s World Cup in North America.Les Bleus, winners of the World Cup in 2018 and runners-up in Qatar in 2022, are on top of the four-team Group D with two matches remaining.They sit three points clear of Ukraine in second, meaning a win here will wrap up qualification with a game to spare -- but if they slip up they will still be in a position to finish first when they go to Azerbaijan on Sunday.Ukraine realistically have to win the game to stand a chance of beating the French to top spot, and are otherwise aiming to hold off Iceland to finish second and go into play-offs.Veteran midfielder N Golo Kante, now playing in Saudi Arabia, was brought back into the France squad for the games and could make his first international appearance in exactly a year.Randal Kolo Muani of Tottenham Hotspur had been recalled too, but was later forced to withdraw from the squad with a broken jaw.Ballon d Or winner Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain is a notable injury absentee for France, who won 2-0 against Ukraine in the reverse fixture played in Poland in September.

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