In the European preliminaries, France defeated Iceland 2-2. The Nordic dark horses were defeated twice. Two major problems were obvious for the Gallic Roosters.

In the fourth round of the World Cup qualifying European Group D, Iceland relied on goals from Parsons and Hellinson to draw 2-2 with France, the second-ranked team in the world, and continued their hopes of qualifying for the group with a heart-pounding draw. Iceland also made England surrender. It is indeed exciting that the characteristics of the dark horse continue to this day. Iceland's tenacity also left regrets for the French team, which was aiming to secure promotion qualifications in advance. Mbappe's absence had a certain impact, and at the same time exposed the team's fatal problems of insufficient offensive efficiency and lack of defensive concentration.

In this game, the Iceland team playing at home understands the essence of the strategy of using its own strengths to attack the other's weaknesses. Facing the French team with a ball possession rate of 70%, they bet on set pieces and quick counterattacks, and finally reaped perfect returns. In the 39th minute of the first half, Saliba's unnecessary foul gave Iceland a set-piece opportunity on the left. Gudmundsson's precise cross created a melee in the penalty area, and Parson's astute tackle broke the deadlock. This goal is the epitome of Iceland's set-piece tactics execution. Their set-piece passing success rate was as high as 80% in the game, while the French team's defensive success rate was only 55%.

In this campaign, what is even more amazing is the Icelandic team’s ability to respond to adversity. After the French team scored two goals in five minutes to take the lead, the home team did not panic. In the 70th minute, Gudmundsson's smooth counterattack in the backcourt pierced the French defense like a scalpel. His selfless cross paved the way for Herlingsen, who calmly pushed into the far corner to equalize. This lightning attack, which lasted only 12 seconds, perfectly demonstrated the simple and efficient tactical style of the Nordic team, and also made the French team pay a heavy price for slacking off after taking the lead.

It must be admitted that Mbappe's absence is like draining the French team's offensive soul. Although Nkunku and Mateta's goals once gave the away team a glimpse of victory, only 2 goals were scored out of 20 shots in the game, and the shot conversion rate was 10%, which exposed the team's embarrassment of not scoring when they were in a good position. Although the 28-year-old Crystal Palace center Matteta scored his first goal for the national team, he became one of the few bright spots for the French team. He received a cross pass from Akliusche and scored in the 68th minute, writing an inspirational story with his debut goal. However, the fulcrum role of the Paris Olympic silver medalist is still not comparable to Giroud, and it is even more difficult to fill the creative void left by Mbappe's absence.

For the French team, the momentary power outage of the defense during the game completely ruined the possibility of winning. Iceland's two goals both originated from the French team's defensive errors. The first goal was a chain reaction after Camavinga's ball control error during the set-piece defense. The second goal was a tactical disagreement between Konde and Upamecano to create an offside, which led to Herlingsson easily getting a single chance. After the game, "L'Equipe" ruthlessly gave Conde, Saliba and other defenders a low score of 3 points, while goalkeeper Maignan failed to show top-notch saving skills in conceding two goals and scored only 4 points.

After the game, coach Deschamps believed: This kind of thing should not happen to us. He bluntly stated that the team's positioning too far forward after taking the lead and failing to press the ball holder in time were the core reasons for conceding the goal. For the sluggish performance in the first half, Deschamps attributed part of the reason to the rotation of the lineup and the intensive defense of the opponent, but he also admitted the reality that the team lacked the ability to break through.

In the current standings, the French team continues to lead Group D with 10 points, 6 points ahead of third-place Iceland, and the qualifying situation is still optimistic. But this draw undoubtedly sounded the alarm for the team. Mbappe's dependence has become a public risk. After the core of 23 goals in 15 games this season was absent, the French team's frontcourt creativity plummeted. The Iceland team relies on this precious 1 point to retain its hope of the play-offs. The next games against Ukraine and Azerbaijan will become a life and death battle.

Nkunku's words in the post-match interview may have revealed the French team's problem. The players failed to stay focused after taking the lead. These mistakes cost the team. For the Gallic Roosters, who aim to defend the World Cup, how to build a more stable offensive and defensive system when the core is absent will be the key issue that Deschamps needs to solve next.