For this first of two preparation matches for the World Cup, Didier Deschamps lined up the expected eleven. That is to say, without the players of Paris Saint-Germain, freshly crowned with their second consecutive coronation in the Champions League.
Rayan Cherki was therefore offered the possibility of starting this meeting against the Elephants. And the Manchester City player was not going to miss the opportunity to showcase himself. Just before half-time, the Lyon native opened the scoring with a right cross shot, which was preceded by a magnificent double contact (1-0, 45th).
The coach took advantage of half-time to carry out a wide squad review. In particular by bringing out Kylian Mbappé, who therefore still left a little breathing room for Olivier Giroud to occupy the position of top scorer in the history of the Blues alone.
A Gifted One Can Hide Another
In the second half, Guéla Doué was well served in depth by Nicolas Pépé. Alone in the area against Mike Maignan, Désiré’s big brother equalized with a right-footed cross shot (1-1, 53rd). At the end of the match, the same Guéla Doué served Amad Diallo behind, who took the lead at the penalty spot to score the winning goal (1-2, 84th).
The France team will play its second and final World Cup preparation match next Monday, against Northern Ireland. This friendly match will also begin at 9:10 p.m., at the Decathlon Arena in Lille.
