Ivory Coast come from behind to beat France in World Cup warm-up

In their penultimate game before the World Cup, France succumbed to a defeat at the hands of Ivory Coast at the Beaujoire on Thursday night.

Cherki steals the show

France will head to North America next week as one of the favourites to win the World Cup. "We can't wait to get started," said Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is looking to play a key role in Les Bleus' midfield and lead his side to a third consecutive World Cup final.

However, before that, two friendlies have been organised, designed to get them up to speed. Before facing Northern Ireland on Monday, Didier Deschamps' side came up against 2023 African champions Ivory Coast. They had an impeccable qualifying campaign, finishing top of a group that contained the likes of Gabon and Gambia without conceding a single goal in their 10 games.

Ivory Coast's wingers posed problems early on, but it was Les Bleus who had the better of the chances before the cooling break midway through the first half. Kylian Mbappé forced a save from Yahia Fofana (7'), Adrien Rabiot drove just over from range (16'), and Michael Olise got into a good position, but his effort from a tight angle lacked curl, power, and placement (21').

Cherki opens the scoring after a brilliant touch-touch finish, curled into the far corner! 🔥

His second goal in six caps for France 🇫🇷#FRACIV pic.twitter.com/sC0dplj4Gd
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 4, 2026

But France were getting closer. Rayan Cherki was wasteful when presented an open goal following a good move marked by a neat interchange between Mbappé, Marcus Thuram, and Theo Hernandez. He ought to have shot first time but opted to take a touch, which he miscontrolled, allowing the chance to slip (31').

Ivory Coast would then have a rare sight on goal, benefitting from an error from Aurélien Tchouaméni. Simon Adingra, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Monaco, snatched the ball and got a shot away. Mike Maignan was switched on to tip it around the corner (42').

Doué inspires Ivory Coast comeback

Following the minor scare, France, and specifically Cherki, upped the tempo. From a short corner, the Manchester City forward worked his way inside, forcing Fofana into a save at his near post, and seconds later, he was at the opposite end of the box, this time cutting into it and pulling a shot into the far corner and this time out of the reach of the former Angers shotstopper (45').

With it being a friendly, this was about bringing players up to speed and getting a look at some of the fringe players. It was no surprise, therefore, to see Didier Deschamps make five changes at the break.

It did disrupt Les Bleus' rhythm and Ivory Coast came back into the game. Strasbourg's Guéla Doué finished past Maignan when put through one-on-one (53'), and France struggled to muster a response against a side that didn't concede during their WC qualifying campaign.

Deschamps continued to ring the changes and as he did so, Ivory Coast's foothold in the game only strengthened. They were the ones pushing and they got the goal. This time, it was Doué the provider and Amad Diallo on the finishing end (84'). His brother, Désiré Doué, didn't get on the pitch, but he looked on from the bench. A bittersweet moment for him, you'd imagine.

Ivory Coast saw out the win and celebrated with their fans, who descended on the Beaujoire in great number.

>> Happy Birthday, Désiré Doué!

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