France suffer defeat to Ivory Coast but remain calm ahead of World Cup

France conceded a 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in Nantes on Thursday evening, around ten days before their World Cup 2026 campaign begins. Rayan Cherki had opened the scoring shortly before half-time, but Didier Deschamps’ side collapsed in the second half, conceding two goals and ultimately losing.

In the dressing room, the mood was serene. “The defeat is unfortunate given how the match went. But we’re in a preparation phase, we haven’t been together long, there are still things to fine-tune. We remain calm for what’s ahead, we’ll keep working hard,” said Aurélien Tchouameni. The Real Madrid midfielder also dismissed any temptation to draw hasty conclusions: “There are no conclusions to draw from this match. Even if we’d played an excellent game, it wouldn’t have meant much for what’s to come. The most important thing is to keep working together, to review the adjustments on video. We’ll be ready.”

Rayan Cherki, author of France’s only goal, adopted a more offensive tone. “It’s a little wake-up call that keeps us well focused. We won’t go to the World Cup as favourites, but to crush everyone,” said the former Lyon player.

The Manchester City forward also discussed his understanding with Michael Olise, which was particularly evident in the first half. “Playing with Michael is huge because we understand each other without even speaking. He knows I can go right, left and he’s the same. When I see him moving into the centre, I don’t necessarily want to get in his way because he can bring a player with him and there might be space on the right, and vice versa. It’s a game understanding we have. When we’re on the pitch, it’s magnificent to play together,” he said.