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France held in Iceland as Germany and Belgium close on 2026 World Cup

Published

2 weeks ago

October 14, 2025

Injury-hit France were held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Monday, while Germany won in Northern Ireland with a Nick Woltemade goal and Belgium beat Wales to stand on the brink of a place at next year’s finals.

France, World Cup winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, were without a host of players in Reykjavik including captain Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, both out injured.

They fell behind to a Victor Palsson goal late in the first half, but Christopher Nkunku equalised just after the hour mark.

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta then gave Les Bleus the lead midway through the second half, getting his first senior international goal on his first start.

However, Iceland were back level almost from the restart as Kristian Hlynsson of FC Twente ran through unchallenged to make it 2-2.

France could have clinched qualification for next year’s tournament in North
America with a win in Reykjavik combined with Ukraine failing to beat Azerbaijan at the same time.

But while they were dropping points, Ukraine were beating Azerbaijan 2-1 in the Polish city of Krakow — Oleksiy Hutsuliak and Ruslan Malinovskiy scored for Ukraine either side of a Vitaliy Mykolenko own goal.

France are nevertheless three points clear at the top of Group D with two games remaining next month, and a win at home to second-placed Ukraine in Paris will wrap up top spot.

“We totally controlled the game. Iceland had two shots on target and scored two goals,” France coach Didier Deschamps told TFI.

“But we have another point on the board and next month will be decisive.”

Germany have now recorded three consecutive victories in Group A after beginning their campaign with a defeat in Slovakia last month.

Newcastle United forward Woltemade headed in the only goal of the game as Germany beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in Belfast, and Julian Nagelsmann’s team are top of the group with nine points.

“It was a very important three points for us,” Woltemade told Germany’s RTL, adding that “in this atmosphere and in a bit of an ugly game, you have to win and we did well”.

Switzerland forced to wait

Slovakia sit second only on goal difference as they defeated Luxembourg 2-0 at home, Adam Obert and Ivan Schranz scoring the goals in the second half.

The 12 group winners in European qualifying will go to the World Cup, with runners-up continuing on to play-offs set for next March — the meeting between Germany and Slovakia in Leipzig next month will therefore be decisive.

Belgium have almost qualified from Group J after Kevin De Bruyne converted two penalties in a 4-2 win over Wales in Cardiff.

Joe Rodon had given Wales an early lead but De Bruyne’s spot-kick double came either side of a Thomas Meunier goal.

Nathan Broadhead pulled it back to 3-2, only for Leandro Trossard of Arsenal to seal Belgium’s victory at the death.

Rudi Garcia’s Red Devils — who beat Wales 4-3 at home in June — now know one win from their two games next month away to Kazakhstan and at home to Liechtenstein will clinch top spot.

Meanwhile, Wales must try to catch second-placed North Macedonia, who were held 1-1 at home by Kazakhstan on Monday with Enis Bardhi replying for the hosts after Dinmukhamed Karaman’s opener.

Switzerland could have qualified from Group B with the right combination of results, but will have to wait until next month after a 0-0 draw in Slovenia.

The Swiss are now only three points clear of Kosovo, who beat Sweden 1-0 in Gothenburg thanks to a solitary strike by Fisnik Asllani of Hoffenheim.

Sweden’s campaign has proven to be a disaster as they sit bottom of the section with just one point despite having Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak starting together up front — they have failed to even score in their last three matches.

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Babar Azam picked as Fakhar Zaman’s replacement for South Africa T20Is, says Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson

Published

4 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after Fakhar Zaman’s decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.

Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.

Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.

“I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.

“He wanted to focus on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a bit of a break from T20s. That’s created an opportunity for another top-order player.”

Hesson confirmed that Babar will take the number three spot instead of the batter’s preferred opening position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling in form and then out of favour.

The coach, however, has expectations from Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

“It’s a great chance to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He’s likely to bat at number three, a role I’m confident he’ll perform well in.

“It also gives our squad some flexibility ahead of the [T20] World Cup.”

‘Haris needs to work’

Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the axing of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan squad even after he received ample backing from the team management across Hesson’s tenure so far.

The 24-year-old proved his mettle with a century against Bangladesh back in June but gradually lost form amid frequent change of batting positions.

Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his issues.

“Haris has had a number of opportunities recently, and he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.

“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so that’s an area for improvement.”

Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan — who last year gave up on a career in the United Arab Emirates to play for Pakistan before being eventually dropped. He emerged out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who keeps wickets as well, as a good player of spin.

“We see our wicket-keeper batting more through the middle rather than at the top, especially with spin being such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”

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FIFA announces new ASEAN Cup for Southeast Asia

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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A new tournament, the FIFA ASEAN Cup, will be launched as part of an agreement between FIFA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), aimed at boosting the development of football across the region.

The announcement was made during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding.

The tournament will bring together national teams from all ASEAN member states in a format inspired by the Arab Cup, which was first organised by FIFA in 2021.

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“This will be a great addition to the regional football calendar,” Infantino said.

“Through the FIFA ASEAN Cup, we are uniting countries together, and this competition will be a huge success as it will help boost national team football in the ASEAN region and support the development of our sport across all of Southeast Asia.”

World football’s governing body will work with regional stakeholders including the Asian Football Confederation, the ASEAN Football Federation, and the relevant FIFA member associations to finalise the tournament’s format.

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