Ukraine 2-1 Azerbaijan, FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers: Malinovskyi Puts Hosts Ahead; France Level Against Iceland

What is going on in this match. Seconds after taking the lead, Iceland have levelled the scores through Hlynsson. Brilliant work from Gudmundsson to create the opportunity and find his teammate, and young Hlynsson showed maturity beyond his age to finish it past Maignan.

Five minutes after getting the equaliser, France have flipped the script, and in-form Mateta gets his name on the scoresheet. It was a good build-up from the visitors down the left flank. Nkunku and Camavinga played one-touch football to find substitute Akliouche in the box. Instead of shooting, the youngster laid it off for Mateta to poke it past Olafsson.

It's the returning hero Malinovskyi who puts Ukraine ahead with his 10th international goal. It was a bullet strike from the Genoa forward which flies past Mahammadaliev. A ball from Voloshyn found Hutsuliak, who laid it off for Malinovskyi to find the back of the net and put his side in front.

Iceland's stubborn defence is finally broken by Les Bleus. It all started from their own half, with Digne lofting a pass towards Nkunku on the left flank. The AC Milan winger took the ball on his right and cut inside before unleashing a powerful shot from the edge of the box that gave the goalkeeper no chance.

The clock hits the hour mark, and France are still not able to find the equaliser against Iceland despite having 14 shots - five of them on target. The defensive pair of Gretarsson and Ingasson have been superb, as has been goalkeeper Olafsson.

Meanwhile, Ukraine are yet to make their dominance of the ball count, with the match still level in Krakow. This is superb from Azerbaijan, who haven't been in the best of forms lately.

The second half is underway in both the fixtures. Ukraine, after being stunned by Azerbaijan in the first-half stoppage time, will seek to retake the lead after bossing the first half. Iceland, on the other hand, will ask for more of the same as they lead against France.

Iceland vs France:

Ukraine vs Azerbaijan:

Out of absolutely nowhere, Azerbaijan counter with pace and lethality to find the back of the net. A well-played ball from from Cafarquliyev finds Ahkudzade, and the young striker makes no mistake to get his first international goal for Azerbaijan. The scores are level with the last play of the half.

Update: The goal has been given as an own goal for Mykolenko.

What a first half this is tuning out to be for Iceland! After keeping the French attackers quiet for a solid half-hour - aided by some solid saves by Olafsson - the Scandinavians take the lead against the run of play through Palsson. A well taken free-kick by Gudmundsson finds the centre-back in the box, and he had the easiest of tap-ins past Maignan.

Ukraine win a free-kick off the left flank, and it's a flat delivery frim Malinovsky. It's a free header at the end for the winger, and his bullet header nestles into the bottom corner, giving Mahammadaliev no chance at all.

15 minutes have gone in both the matches, and neither side have been able to break the deadlock. Ukraine's match against Azerbaijan has been super lively, with excellent chances for both sides, but both Trubin and Mahammadaliev have stood tall. As for France, other than an early chance for Nkunku, it has been slim pickings for Les Bleus against a motivated Icelandic side.

The whistle goes in Krakow and Reykjavik, and the two Group D matches are underway. Can Iceland and Azerbaijan cause upsets and topple the narrative in the group? Stay tuned!

The Iceland vs France match will be shown live in India on the Sony LIV OTT platform, and television broadcasts will take place in the Sony TEN 5 and Sony TEN 5 HD channels. The Ukraine vs Azerbaijan match will also be shown on Sony LIV and Sony TEN channels.

You can follow the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers Group D live scores on Outlook India for free.

Iceland: Elias Olafsson; Logi Tomasson, Sverrir Ingi Ingason, Daniel Gretarsson, Victor Palsson; Hakon Arnar Haladsson, Isak Bermann Johannesson, Mikael Ellertsson; Saevar Atli Magnusson, Daniel Tristan Gudjohnsen, Albert Gudmundsson

France: Mike Maignan; Lucas Digne, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde; Manu Kone, Eduardo Camavinga, Florian Thauvin; Christopher Nkunku, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Michael Olise

Ukraine: Anatoliy Trubin; Vitaliy Mykolenko, Mykola Matviyenko, Ilya Zabarnyi, Yukhym Konoplia; Yehor Yarmolyuk; Nazar Voloshyn, Oleg Ocheretko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Oleksii Hutsuliak; Artem Dovbyk

Azerbaijan: Sahrudin Mahammadaliev; Elvin Jafarguliyev, Elvin Badalov, Bahlul Mustafazada, Anton Krivotsyuk, Abbas Huseynov; Anatoli Nuriev, Emin Makhmudov, Abdulakh Khaybulaev, Toral Bayramov; Nariman Akhundzade

Greetings, football fans! Thank you for tuning in to the start of our live blog for the two FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers Group D fixtures.

Despite France having a five-point lead in the group, both Ukraine and Iceland are in the race for securing progression. Azerbaijan, too, have an outside chance if they win their remaining matches.

Stay tuned for pre-match updates and lineups as they are released.