Friendly Roundup: Kvilitaia scores for Georgia and more
Following the conclusion of the Ligue 1 McDonald's season, international friendlies have started in earnest ahead of the 2026 World Cup -- get the latest with our roundup of Monday and Tuesday's action.
Monday: Bombito helps Canada to a clean sheet
With just a handful of Ligue 1 McDonald's players involved in Monday's matches, there were few landmark moments, with hosts Canada perhaps playing the biggest match as they sough to test themselves against a fellow qualifier, Uzbekistan. Off the back of OGC Nice having maintained their Ligue 1 McDonald's status, defender Moise Bombito was in the eleven, alongside former Ligue 1 players Ismaël Koné, Jonathan David and Derek Cornelius. Their performances were good enough for a 2-0 win over a Uzbekistan side featuring former RC Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
Also on Monday, Deiver Machado (FC Nantes) came off the bench in a 3-1 win for Colombia over Costa Rica. In Vienna, hosts Austria edged a Tunisia side starring Lorient's Montassar Talbi and OGC Nice's Ali Abdi, with PSG's Khalil Ayari featuring from the bench. In Sweden's 3-1 loss to Norway, Strasbourg's Sebastian Nanasi came off the bench, while Toulouse FC midfielder Mario Sauer came off the bench for Slovakia.
Tuesday: Haiti romp past New zealand, Kvilitaia scores for Georgia
While Georgia won't be participating in this summer's World Cup, the strong play of Khvicha Kvarastskhelia makes them a must-watch. Following Paris Saint-Germain's winning the Champions League, "Kvara" and FC Metz's Giorgi KVILITAIA joined their national team for friendlies against Bahrain and Romania. The FC Metz man was on the scoresheet earlier today as Georgia drew with Romania, while for Morocco, the RC Strasbourg duo of Gessime Yassine and Samir El Mourabet both came off the bench.
Finally, Haiti -- one of the surprises of qualifying -- with no less than five France-based players, romped past New Zealand 4-0 in Fort Lauderdale, with Nancy's Ruben Providence among the scorers and the tandem of Johnny Placide (SC Bastia) and Alexandre Pierre (Sochaux) keeping a clean sheet.
