French Cup: Round of 32 draw pits Saint-Étienne, Nantes and Red Star against underdogs

Twelve Ligue 2 clubs survived Round 7 of the Coupe de France this weekend and now know their opponents for Round 8, scheduled for November 28 and 29. Six professional sides failed to progress: Dijon, Rodez, Dunkerque, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Guingamp and Metz have been eliminated from the competition.

Saint-Étienne, Nantes, Red Star, Laval, Montpellier, Reims, Sochaux, Clermont, Annecy, Nancy, Pau and Grenoble remain in contention for the trophy. This Round 8 represents the final act before Ligue 1 clubs enter the fray at the Round of 32 stage.

Among the standout matchups, Saint-Étienne (L2) host Villefranche-Beaujolais (L3) in Group I, while Nantes (L2) travel to FC Nueillaubiers (R1) in Group H. Red Star (L2) face Tremblay FC (R2) in Group E, a duel seemingly favourable to the Audoniens but which illustrates the pitfalls the Coupe de France traditionally reserves for Ligue 2 sides against amateur clubs.

In Group C, Stade de Reims (L2) travel to Olympique Charleville Prix Ardenne Métropole (N2), and Nancy (L2) host Furiani-Agliani (N1). Montpellier (L2) will be expected to travel to Avenir Foot Lozère (R2) in Group F, as will Grenoble (L2) who visit Nîmes Olympique (N1).

Matches will be played across the entire territory, including overseas, notably featuring Tamponnaise (Réunion) and AS Étoile Matoury (French Guiana) competing in their respective groups.