France, considered a strong favorite to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, suffered a blow in a friendly match.
France lost 1-2 in a comeback defeat to Ivory Coast in a friendly held at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France, on the 4th (local time).
France, which won the 2018 tournament in Russia and finished runner-up at the 2022 Qatar tournament, is aiming for the top once again at this World Cup in North and Central America.
However, with the defeat in a friendly held ahead of the World Cup finals, a red light has been flashed on its bid to reclaim the title.
France took on Ivory Coast with a starting lineup including "ace" Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) and Michael Olise (Bayern Munich).
France dominated the match. In the 45th minute of the first half, Rayan Cherki (Manchester City) scored a goal to take the lead and pressure Ivory Coast.
But in the second half, Ivory Coast mounted a major counterattack. In the 8th minute of the second half, Guela Doue (Strasbourg) finished off a pass from Nicolas Pepe (Villarreal) to level the score 1-1.
In the 39th minute of the second half, Amad Diallo (Manchester United) connected on a pass provided by Doue to complete the comeback.
France brought on substitutes including Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain) late in the second half in search of an equalizer, but ultimately failed to find one, losing 1-2.
France is in Group I and will compete with Senegal, Iraq, and Norway for a ticket to the round of 32.
