France’s FIFA World Cup preparations were dealt a blow after they surrendered the lead to lose 2-1 against the Ivory Coast, who claimed an historic first-ever win over the European giants.
Didier Deschamps was taking charge of his penultimate match on French soil, with this the first of two warm-up matches for Les Bleus before flying out to North America. Kylian Mbappe led the line in Nantes and was looking to equal Olivier Giroud’s all-time goalscoring record.
He almost managed that inside the opening 10 minutes, but Yahia Fofana’s outstretched arm pushed away the home skipper’s close-range effort. It looked to be only a matter of time until FIFA’s No. 1-ranked side broke the deadlock, as Adrien Rabiot’s long-range strike flew narrowly over the target.
The hosts were certainly in the mood to put on a show, with Fofana called into action to deny Michael Olise following a lovely free-flowing move.
Ivory Coast were struggling to make inroads themselves at the end of the pitch, but Seko Fofana managed to pick out Simon Adingra in the box for a header which sailed over the bar.
Adingra then had another opportunity when he intercepted Aurélien Tchouameni before forcing Mike Maignan into a fine save, before Rayan Cherkistruck the opener on the stroke of half time.
The Manchester City midfielder effortlessly weaved his way through Les Elephants’ defence and dispatched a clinical finish past Fofana.
Mbappe would have to wait at least one more game to equal Giroud’s record after being taken off in one of five French changes at half time, while Nicolas Pepe entered the fray as one of two alterations for the Ivory Coast.
Pepe claimed an assist just eight minutes into the second half, playing a perfectly-weighted through ball for Guela Doue to latch onto and fire home past Maignan, with UEFA Champions League-winning younger brother Desire Doue watching on from the France bench.
The night then got even better for Emerse Fae’s side in the 84th minute, when Doue provided the assist for Amad Diallo to convert a brilliant first-time effort beyond Maignan to stun the two-time world champions.
This was a result which barely seemed possible after a largely dominant first-half performance from Deschamps’ men, who were left to rue several missed opportunities before the break.
They will look to recover quickly when they host Northern Ireland in their final World Cup warm-up on Monday, while Ivory Coast can now dream of inflicting further upsets when they travel to North America.
