- World Cup International Friendlies: Ivory Coast Claim Famous Comeback Victory Over France
Ivory Coast produced one of the biggest surprises of the international warm-up matches ahead of the FIFA World Cup after fighting back to beat France 2-1 in Nantes on Thursday night, thanks to a late winner from Amad Diallo.
The Elephants showed tremendous character against one of the tournament favourites, overturning a first-half deficit to secure an impressive victory over Didier Deschamps’ side in front of the French crowd.
France captain Kylian Mbappe entered the match hoping to equal Olivier Giroud’s national team scoring record of 57 goals. However, the forward endured a frustrating evening and was substituted at halftime, remaining on 56 goals after his 97th appearance for Les Bleus.
The hosts looked to be in control just before the break when Rayan Cherki opened the scoring in the 44th minute. The young attacker danced his way through the Ivory Coast defence before drilling a powerful low shot beyond the goalkeeper to hand France a deserved lead.
Ivory Coast responded brilliantly after halftime and found their equaliser in the 53rd minute through Guela Doue. The defender, who is the older brother of France international Desire Doue, stunned the home fans with a composed finish to bring the African side level.
The momentum shifted completely after the equaliser as the Elephants grew in confidence against the World Cup contenders.
Manchester United winger Amad Diallo then delivered the decisive moment six minutes from time. The substitute reacted quickest inside the penalty area to fire home an instinctive finish and seal a memorable comeback victory for Ivory Coast.
The result raises further excitement around Ivory Coast ahead of the FIFA World Cup, while France will look to quickly regroup before their final warm-up match against Northern Ireland in Lille on Monday.
Les Bleus begin their quest for a third FIFA World Cup title on June 16 when they face Senegal in East Rutherford.
Elsewhere, European champions Spain were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Iraq in A Coruna. Ferran Torres gave Spain the lead after 16 minutes, but Iraq equalised through Merchas Doski shortly afterwards.
Spain dominated possession for large spells and Torres struck the crossbar before halftime, yet Luis de la Fuente’s heavily rotated side could not find a winning goal. The Spanish coach handed international debuts to seven players not included in his final World Cup squad.
In another warm-up fixture, Iran defeated Mali 2-0 in Turkey as they wrapped up preparations for the tournament.
Iran are expected to travel to their World Cup base in Mexico on Saturday after finally receiving entry visas earlier this week. However, reports indicate the team are still awaiting visas for the United States, where all three of their group-stage matches are scheduled to take place.
Meanwhile, Switzerland received positive news after forward Breel Embolo was cleared to travel to the United States. His electronic travel authorisation had initially been placed under review, but the Swiss Football Federation confirmed that his visa had now been approved.
