France faces Azerbaijan, the Gallic Rooster wants to spread its wings at home

In a strong-weak dialogue in Group D of the World Cup European Qualifiers, the French team, ranked second in the world, sat at home and faced Azerbaijan, ranked 124th. The two teams have very different historical records. In this matchup, the powerful French team is looking forward to continuing its winning pace at home.

In the early morning of Friday, Group D of the World Cup European Qualifiers will stage an attention-grabbing duel. The French team will face Azerbaijan at home. The home team France has won both games and ranks first in Group D; the visiting team Azerbaijan has 1 draw and 1 loss and is at the bottom of the group.

This game is not only a direct dialogue between the top and bottom of the group, but also a good opportunity for France to consolidate its lead. Azerbaijan hopes to reverse its recent decline and strive for points on the road.

01 Team status and group situation

The French team had a solid start to the World Cup preliminaries and showed strong strength. They achieved a complete victory in the first two rounds. They defeated Ukraine 2-1 away from home in the first round and defeated Iceland 2-0 at home in the second round. These two victories helped the French team accumulate 6 points and remain at the top of Group D with a goal difference advantage.

The team has been in hot form recently, with three consecutive wins in all competitions, including a 2-0 win over the powerful German team in an away game. On both offense and defense, the French team also showed balanced strength, scoring 4 goals and conceding only 1 goal in the two group matches.

Azerbaijan struggled in this World Cup preliminaries. In the first two rounds, there was 1 draw and 1 loss but no victory. In the first round, they drew with Ukraine 1-1 at home and suffered a 0-5 away defeat to Iceland in the second round.

The overall state of the team continues to be sluggish. In the past 10 games in all competitions, there have been 3 draws and 7 losses without a win. The defensive end is full of loopholes. A total of 25 goals have been conceded in these 10 games.

02 Tactical style and lineup

French coach Deschamps has been coaching the team for nearly eleven years and has accumulated rich experience in competitions. His tactical system is mature and stable, and the team's luxury lineup can be called "ceiling level". The team's worth exceeds 1.28 billion euros, and most of the players play for Europe's top giants.

However, the French team faces certain injuries in this game. Core player Mbappe has sprained his ankle and has not participated in the team's full training so far, and there is a high probability that he will not be able to play in this game. In addition, many attackers such as Dembele, Douai, and Barcola will also be absent.

In the possible absence of Mbappe, players such as Olise need to take on more offensive responsibilities. The Bayern Munich forward is in excellent form and has contributed 4 offensive and defensive contributions in the last 5 national team games.

As for Azerbaijan, the overall strength of the team is limited, and the entire team is worth less than Mbappe. The team has recently tried to improve the strength of the lineup through the naturalization policy, but the effect is not obvious.

03 Historical confrontation and data comparison

Historical confrontation data shows a one-sided trend. The two teams have met twice in official matches, with the French team winning both games.

The most impressive thing is the 1995 European Cup qualifiers. The French team defeated Azerbaijan with a disparity of 10-0, setting a record for the largest point difference between the two sides. In another encounter, the French team also won 2-0.

From a data perspective, there are obvious gaps between the two teams in all aspects. The French team has scored in the first half of eight of the last ten games, showing its ability to quickly enter the game.

Azerbaijan's away performance is worrying. It has failed to score in 5 of the past 6 away games, and its away attack is weak. What is even more worrying is that Azerbaijan ended up losing all of its nearly 10 away games this season after falling behind.

04 Game Highlights and Stadium Outlook

For the French team, it is crucial to be able to take the lead in scoring with the momentum of the home court. The Stade de France is a strong fortress for the team, with 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss in the past 10 official games.

The team's offensive diversity will be the key to breaking through tight defenses. Even without Mbappe, France still has offensive players such as Olise and Koeman. In the 2025 game, most of the team's goals occurred in the second half of the game, which reflects its excellent physical reserves and late-stage power characteristics.

Azerbaijan needs to overcome the problem of weak away games. The team's away defensive holes are prominent, as was the 0-5 defeat to Iceland in the last round of World Cup preliminaries

. The team has scored more than 3 goals in 7 of its last 10 away games, which exposed the problem of defensive instability.

From a stylistic point of view, the French team's ball-control pressure will be in sharp contrast to Azerbaijan's defensive counterattack. The progress of the game may not only be about skills and tactics, but also about the psychological competition between the two teams, especially whether Azerbaijan can overcome the psychological disadvantages of historical confrontations.