France, England Cruise to 2026 World Cup as Italy Keep Qualification Hopes Alive

France vs Sweden, Norway vs Ivory Coast Headline FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32

France sealed their spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dominant 4-0 win over Ukraine, becoming the second European team to qualify.

Kylian Mbappé struck twice, opening the scoring with a cool chipped penalty before adding another, while Michael Olise and Hugo Ekitiké also found the net. England maintained their flawless qualifying run, defeating Serbia 2-0 at Wembley thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze.

The visitors threatened through Dušan Vlahović, but England held firm for a seventh straight clean-sheet win. Meanwhile, Italy stayed within reach of Norway after late headers from Gianluca Mancini and Pio Esposito.