NANTES, France — A heavily rotated France squad suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat to the Ivory Coast in a World Cup warmup friendly on Thursday at the Stade de la Beaujoire, courtesy of a late strike from Manchester United winger Amad, according to an match report by ESPN.
Despite Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki putting Les Bleus ahead right before the break, a massive wave of second-half substitutions by manager Didier Deschamps disrupted France’s rhythm. The Elephants capitalised on the shakeup, equalising through Guela Doué before Amad sealed the comeback victory in the final minutes.
First-Half Breakthrough
France looked sharp early on, threatening the Ivorian goal when Michael Olise set up Kylian Mbappé on the left flank, forcing a sharp low save from Ivory Coast keeper Yahia Fofana. Adrien Rabiot and Olise both narrowly missed doubling the pressure before the midway water break, as the African side sat deep in a compact defensive shape.
The Ivory Coast, entering the match on the back of an impressive, unbeaten 10-game streak in World Cup qualifying without conceding a goal, eventually grew into the game. ESPN’s coverage highlighted Sunderland’s Simon Adingra as a major threat; he first headed over the bar from a corner and later forced a crucial save from French keeper Mike Maignan after picking the pocket of midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni.
However, it was France who broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. After his initial long-range effort was blocked, Cherki recovered the ball on the right side of the penalty area, executed a clever step-over, and drilled a precise low shot past Fofana into the bottom corner.
Second-Half Turnaround
With an eye on managing player fitness ahead of their tournament opener, Deschamps made five changes during the interval. Notable exits included Mbappé making way for Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, while Lucas Digne stepped in for Theo Hernández.
The tactical reshuffle quickly backfired. In the 53rd minute, Nicolas Pépé split the French defense with a perfectly timed through ball, allowing surging right-back Guela Doué—brother of French winger Desire Doué—to burst through the center and clip a composed finish past Maignan.
France attempted to reclaim the lead when Mateta found Marcus Thuram, but the forward’s effort drifted just wide of the far post.
As Deschamps continued to filter through more substitutions, the Ivory Coast found the decisive blow in the 84th minute. As detailed by ESPN, Doué turned provider, whipping a cross from the right wing into the path of substitute Amad, who cleanly swept a first-time effort into the far corner to wrap up a stunning win.
What’s Next
The Ivory Coast continues their preparations to return to the global stage for the first time since 2014, where they are scheduled to face Germany in Group E. Meanwhile, France will look to iron out their defensive miscues in another warmup fixture against Northern Ireland in Lille on Monday, before flying to New Jersey to open their World Cup campaign against Senegal.
