Azerbaijan v France preview

Ibrahima Konate insisted France will take their final World Cup qualifier with Azerbaijan seriously despite having already clinched qualification.

Didier Deschamps’ side clinched their spot at the 2026 finals with a 4-0 win over Ukraine last Thursday.

France are unbeaten in Group D, and Konate is keen to ensure they do not blemish their record in Baku.

“The message is complicated but simple at the same time: every match is important,” Konate said.

“It’s our job; we have to enjoy it. It’s the national team. We’ll have to win the points and put up stats, too – especially the attacking players.”

Azerbaijan will finish bottom of the group, having lost 2-0 to Iceland last time out.

“We wanted to win points and believed we would,” Caretaker boss Aykhan Abbasov said of that defeat.

“The strength of our opponents was clear – Iceland looked more compact collectively, compared to Ukraine [2-1 away defeat on October 13].

“We played better in the second half and we had opportunities to score . We have the last match against France and we will prepare well for it.”