Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Stade de France will host Friday’s World Cup qualifier between France and Kazakhstan, the two teams who sit in the opposite halves of the standings. Les Tricolores aim to cement top position in Group D, and they are likely to go all guns blazing at the Kazakhs. Fit-again Real Madrid attacker Karim Benzema is widely expected to lead the line for the hosts, while Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante returns to contention after missing the October qualifiers with injury.
Leipzig attacker Christopher Nkunku, on the other hand, has been left out of the squad. Kazakhstan failed to impress in a 2-0 loss to Finland, and seeing that they are stuck at the bottom of Group D, we do not believe that the visitors are capable of grabbing something from the Stade de France showdown. You should know that France defeated Kazakhstan 2-0 at Astana Arena earlier in the process.
Highlighted Player (Kylian Mbappé):
Kylian Mbappe is a French footballer who plays for Paris Saint-Germain as a forward. The French rising star began his youth career at AS Bondy and in 2013 he moved to AS Monaco. After making 12 appearances for Monaco B, Kylian Mbappe made his debut for the senior team in 2015. Mbappe quickly established himself as a regular goalscorer, with the teenager finding the net 15 times in 29 appearances in the Ligue 1 in the 2016/2017 season.
In 2017 he moved to fellow French club PSG on loan, with the option of making the deal permanent. Kylian Mbappe scored 13 goals in 27 appearances for les Parisiens in the 2017/2018 and it has to be noted that Unai Emery’s troops eventually won the national championship.
Speaking of his international career, Mbappe played an important role for France at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals, with the pacey rising star scoring a brace in a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina in the last 16 of the showpiece tournament. The PSG attacker was born in Paris on December 20, 1998.
Highlighted Team (Kazakhstan):
Kazakhstan national team played their first international match on June 1, 1992 against Turkmenistan, with the team beating the Emeralds 1-0. The former Soviet republic have been competing on the international stage since 1991, when the country declared independence.
Kazakhstan have yet to book their place at major tournaments, but they have not been serving as a cannon fodder for top European national teams. The Kazakhs were part of Asian Football Confederation before joining UEFA in 2002. However, they could not enter UEFA Euro 2004 qualification as the draw had been made earlier. Kazakhstan national football team recorded their biggest win over Pakistan in June, 1997 and they suffered their biggest defeat in 2005, with the team losing to Turkey 6-0.
Kazakhstan wear sky-blue shirts and sky-blue shorts when playing at home, while their away colour is yellow. Astana Arena is considered Kazakhstan national football team’s home ground and the capacity of the stadium is 30.244. The venue was opened in July, 2009.