France missed a chance to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup on Monday after being held to 2-2 at Iceland.
The result in Reykjavik halted France’s perfect start in European qualifying after three straight victories. The two-time world champion could have sealed qualification if it had beaten Iceland and Ukraine failed to defeat Azerbaijan. Ukraine won 2-1.
Runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, France still leads Group D with 10 points, three more than Ukraine.
France was without captain Kylian Mbappé, who scored in the team’s 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan on Friday but limped off the field with a right ankle injury.
Iceland took the lead with a goal by Victor Palsson in the 39th minute but the visitors rallied with Christopher Nkunku scoring in the 63rd minute and Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 68th. Iceland evened the match with Kristian Hlynsson a couple of minutes later.
Iceland stayed
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