June 5 – Ivory Coast stunned France in a World Cup warm-up 2-1. The French were the second European team in two days to succumb to a surprise defeat to African opponents on home soil after the Dutch had lost 1-0 against Algeria in Rotterdam.
Just like Ronald Koeman, French manager Didier Deschamps called the loss “a wake-up call” for a team that are one of the favourites for the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s a wake-up call, if we needed one. I’m not going to overreact, just as I wouldn’t have gotten carried away if we’d won. It’s a step, and it’s not necessarily a positive one because it’s a defeat,” said Deschamps.
On the stroke of half-time, Manchester City’s Ryan Cherki handed Les Bleus the lead with a neat goal, dribbling past opposing defenders in tight space before dispatching a cool finish into the bottom left corner, but Ivory Coast reversed their fortunes with second-half strikes from Guela Doue and Amad Diallo to claim a win.
The French had enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, but didn’t take their chances. At half-time, Didier Deschamps took off Kylian Mbappé but the substitutes failed to take advantage of the hosts’ rhythm.
“It’s a defeat, and that’s never pleasant, even though we did some good things, especially in the first half,” explained Deschamps.
“It was more difficult in the second half. The numerous substitutions didn’t help; there was less cohesion than with the starting players. We’ll be facing a similar opponent on June 16 (Senegal).”
The French will also play Norway and Iraq in Group I of the World Cup. They have further opportunity to fine-tune their team when they take on Northern Ireland next Monday in Lille.
At the last World Cup in Qatar, Deschamps led Les Bleus to the final against Argentina and despite two goals from Mbappé in a 3-3 draw, they lost the penalty shootout. The manager will leave his role after this summer’s tournament.
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