France lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast in their last World Cup warm-up. With Deschamps bowing out and a tricky Group I ahead, the tournament favourites have been handed a timely reality check.
The world's top-ranked side were supposed to cruise into the World Cup. Instead, France were beaten 2-1 by Ivory Coast in Nantes on June 4, a result Didier Deschamps called "a reminder, if we needed one, not to think we're better than we are" (Al Jazeera).
Rayan Cherki had given France an early lead before Guéla Doué and Manchester United's Amad Diallo turned the game after the break. France, missing a clutch of PSG players rested after the Champions League final, lost control once the substitutions began (Al Jazeera).
There is an extra weight to this campaign. Deschamps has confirmed it will be his final tournament in charge, ending a reign that began in 2012 and delivered the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 final (FourFourTwo). He will hand over having shaped a generation; he would dearly love to leave with a third star above the badge.
Kylian Mbappé captains the side in what is his third World Cup, and France travel as the No. 1-ranked nation on the planet (Al Jazeera). The talent is not in question. The sharpness, on the evidence of Nantes, still needs a few days.
!A reminder, if we needed one, not to think we're better than we are.
France headline Group I alongside Senegal, Erling Haaland's Norway and Iraq, back at a World Cup after 40 years. They open against Senegal at MetLife Stadium on June 16 (Al Jazeera).
It is a draw with two high-quality pace tests baked in. Senegal carry power and athleticism through midfield and attack; Norway have one of the most lethal centre-forwards in the world. The Ivory Coast defeat — lost, as Deschamps noted, to a fast and direct opponent — looks like exactly the kind of dress rehearsal France needed.
Warm-up results travel badly. France made wholesale changes, protected tired legs and still led at the break against a strong Ivory Coast side. Midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni's response was blunt: "We will be ready" (Al Jazeera).
The deeper truth is that France's squad depth remains absurd even after omissions, and Deschamps has a long record of peaking his teams when it counts rather than in June friendlies.
A defeat that stings the ego but barely dents the projection. France remain among the very favourites, and a wake-up call three days before the group stage is a price worth paying.
Pit them against the field in our winner prediction, read the case for the holders going back-to-back in why France can win, and map their group in the Group I preview.
Kickoff XI is an independent publication and is not affiliated with FIFA.
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