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Friendlies: France fall to Ivory Coast, Cherki shines but the warning signs are real

Friendlies: France fall to Ivory Coast, Cherki shines but the warning signs are real

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eugset
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Contents hide
  1. 1 A timely wake-up call before the big trip
  2. 2 Cherki turned the lights on
  3. 3 A promising first half from France, but not a perfect one
  4. 4 The break changed everything
  5. 5 Guela Doue, Ivory Coast’s standout man
  6. 6 The bench didnt shift the pecking order
  7. 7 Ivory Coast played it right
  8. 8 Cherki sets the tone, Deschamps plays it down
  9. 9 Senegal is already on the horizon

A timely wake-up call before the big trip

France wanted to kick off their build-up to the 2026 World Cup with some certainty, a bit of rhythm, a few patterns, and, above all, no fresh injuries. Instead, Les Bleus left Nantes with a defeat, a pile of questions, and a Didier Deschamps line that summed up the night pretty neatly: don’t get ahead of yourselves.

Beaten 2-1 by Ivory Coast at La Beaujoire, France got a first look at two very different halves. The opening 45 were fairly controlled, driven by an inspired Rayan Cherki. The second was a messier affair, broken up by substitutions, undermined by defensive errors and punished by an Ivory Coast side that grew stronger as the minutes ticked by.

Twelve days out from their opening World Cup match against Senegal, this is not yet a full-blown crisis. But it’s very clearly not nothing.

Cherki turned the lights on

With plenty of eyes fixed on the Mbappe, Cherki, Olise, Thuram quartet, it was Rayan Cherki who made the strongest case. Used in the middle, in his natural area, the Manchester City player quickly reminded everyone why his talent keeps drawing so much attention.

Between the lines, he mixed simple lay-offs, clever movement, silky passes and the occasional bit of audacity. He did fluff a huge chance on 31 minutes, taking too long when the goal looked open. But players like him usually don’t need long to make amends.

Right before the break, he produced one of his trademark moments: a neat drag, a defender left behind, a curled finish, Fofana beaten. 1-0 to France. Pure class, and the sort of goal that quickly raises a question Deschamps won’t be dodging for long: has Cherki just forced his way into the starting conversation for the World Cup?

A promising first half from France, but not a perfect one

Before the break, France were on top. Not at full tilt, perhaps, but with enough control to keep the game where they wanted it. Mbappe had the first real opening, a shot pushed away by Fofana. Olise, quiet at first, grew into it as he swapped positions with Cherki and started creating space.

Rabiot brought drive and presence in midfield. Upamecano gave a reassuring sense of power at the back. Tho Hernandez tried to get forward, even if his touch sometimes broke France’s momentum.

But it wasn’t all tidy. Tchouameni gave the ball away in a dangerous spot just outside his own box. Konate struggled with the pace of Yan Diomande. Kounde had a rough night from the first pass onwards, too many loose balls and not nearly enough calm.

France were ahead, yes. Comfortable? Not quite.

The break changed everything

Didier Deschamps had made it clear before kick-off: this was about spreading the minutes around. So at half-time he rang the changes. Mbappe, Olise, Tchouameni, Upamecano and Tho Hernandez went off. Mateta, Akliouche, Kante, Lacroix and Digne came on.

On paper, that makes sense in a friendly. On the pitch, the effect was instant: France lost tempo, sharpness and cohesion. The patterns vanished, the shape stretched, and Ivory Coast sensed there was something there for the taking.

On 53 minutes, Nicolas Pepe picked out Guela Doue, who finished coolly past Maignan. 1-1. That was the sort of goal that punishes a defence caught flat-footed and a side that came out of the dressing room with less bite than before.

Guela Doue, Ivory Coast’s standout man

Guela Doue took a little time to settle into the game. Then he changed it. His equaliser set the tone for the rest of his night, and he didn’t stop there. As the minutes passed, the Strasbourg man grew in confidence, aggression and quality.

On 84 minutes, he delivered the move that swung the match. From a slick team sequence, he teed up Amad Diallo, who got in front of the France defence and used the outside of his right foot to beat Maignan. 2-1 to Ivory Coast.

That was no more than France deserved in the second half. Ivory Coast grew in belief, speed and purpose. France, by contrast, looked more interested in hearing the final whistle than trying to drag themselves back into it.

The bench didnt shift the pecking order

That may be the biggest lesson for Deschamps. The changes did not bring the energy he would have wanted. Mateta added size and fight, but not enough presence in the box. Akliouche showed a few neat technical links with Cherki, but not enough to alter the tempo. Digne looked rusty. Gusto was exposed for the second goal. Lacroix mixed positive passes with some shaky positioning.

Kante, to his credit, gradually found his usual level of activity, but in a side that had already lost its structure, even he could not steady things.

Deschamps will not panic. Quite right too. But the second half underlined a simple truth: squad depth is not just about names on a team sheet. It’s about keeping your identity when the lineup changes.

Ivory Coast played it right

Emerse Fae will be pleased. His side had to ride out pressure in the first half, but they never broke apart. Fofana made the saves he had to make. Singo and Agbadou stood firm in the duels. Diomande kept causing trouble with his pace and bravery. Pepe brought energy after coming on. Amad Diallo finished like a player who trusted himself.

Ivory Coast did not come to make up the numbers. They were serious, patient and ambitious. And when France dropped off, they punished them.

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Cherki sets the tone, Deschamps plays it down

After the match, Rayan Cherki did not exactly go in for modesty. The message was bold: France are not going to the World Cup as favourites, they are going there to “crush everyone”. It is a big statement, almost a dare, but it fits his personality.

Deschamps, meanwhile, preferred to stick to the basics. Losing never feels good, especially at home, especially against a team France had never beaten in a pre-World Cup friendly under his watch. But the head coach also pointed to the changes, the lack of automatisms and the need not to lose perspective.

The bottom line is simple: France have talent, but they have not won anything yet.

Senegal is already on the horizon

This defeat does not end anything. That is part of the point of friendlies: to find out what holds, what breaks and what needs fixing before the points start to matter.

But in Nantes, France saw their weak spots. A defence that was sometimes turned, full-backs who drifted in and out of the game, a second half without control, substitutes who did not all make their mark.

In twelve days, against Senegal, the intensity will be even higher. Deschamps knows it. So do France.

The preparation has only just started, but the first lesson is already clear: status protects no one. Not even France.

Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP

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