News Focus
- France suffer 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in World Cup preparation clash at Stade de la Beaujoire
- Rayan Cherki scores opener for Les Bleus before 2023 African champions mount second-half comeback
- Didier Deschamps substitutes all ten outfield players during extensive rotation exercise
- Olympique Lyonnais attacker declares France will travel to “crush everyone” rather than as favourites
- Les Bleus face Northern Ireland on Monday in final warm-up fixture before heading to North America
France lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast on Thursday evening, though the result has caused little alarm ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The friendly clash at Stade de la Beaujoire saw Didier Deschamps’ men take an early lead through Rayan Cherki, only for the Elephants to fight back after the interval with goals from Guéla Doué and Amad Diallo.
The French manager used the fixture to assess his squad depth. Deschamps made five changes at half-time and replaced all ten outfield players by the final whistle. This heavy rotation disrupted the side’s rhythm but gave fringe players valuable minutes on the pitch.
Les Bleus will complete their preparations with one final friendly against Northern Ireland on Monday. The squad then travels to North America for the tournament, where they hope to add to their 2018 triumph. Many observers regard France as strong contenders after they reached the final in the last two editions of the competition.
Cherki, who netted for the hosts, rejected the favourites label during his post-match interview with TF1. The Olympique Lyonnais forward warned rivals that France intend to assert dominance at the tournament.
“This loss acts as a small warning to keep us alert,” Cherki explained. “We will not go to the World Cup as favourites. We will go there to crush everyone.”