The France team dominated Côte d’Ivoire (2-1) on Friday in a friendly match in Marseille, saved by the ghost Olivier Giroud and the little capped Aurélien Tchouaméni, in an evening marked by the first selections of Christopher Nkunku, William Saliba and Jonathan Clauss. The Blues overthrew the “Elephants” of Stéphane Haller and Nicolas Pépé thanks to the saving header of Tchouaméni (90th + 3) in added time, a victory in extremis four days before the next friendly scheduled against South Africa, Tuesday in Lille. And luckily Giroud was there…
Giroud back after nine months of absence in Blues
At 35, the eternal fighter grabbed the hand extended by Didier Deschamps, the coach who had left him aside since the Euro, left as a substitute on the failure against Switzerland in the round of 16 (3-3 , 5-4 tab) on June 28 in Bucharest. His return to selection is only due to the withdrawal of Karim Benzema (thigh), of course, his tenure was favored by the absence of Kylian Mbappé, perhaps, but the center forward of AC Milan did not ask questions once the kick-off was given.
As usual, he weighed on the defense, stored, ran and made calls to place his large carcass in the box. And on a cross from Theo Hernandez, his club accomplice, he rose above the Ivorian defense to place a close header (22nd, 1-1).
Several scoring opportunities on the side of the “Elephants”
The clamor of the Vélodrome, filled by some 62,500 people, was matched only by the joy of the second top scorer in the history of the Blues with 47 units, 4 less than Thierry Henry. The rapid equalization of the ex-Montpellier saved the French from gambling too much, against the often threatening Ivorians. Captain Hugo Lloris worked several times to extinguish the fuses triggered in particular by Ghislain Konan (49th) and Serge Aurier (57th), who also called on him on a worrying center shot (34th).
On this action, the ex-Parisian took advantage of too lax marking from Theo Hernandez, very often carried forward, and sometimes to the detriment of his work as a defender. The opening of the score of the “Elephants” comes from a largesse offered by “Theo” and his brother Lucas to the Ivorian winger Pépé who, in a closed angle, took advantage of a space left free between Lloris and his left post (19th, 0-1).
A match to test newcomers
Deschamps took advantage of this friendly, a rare commodity now, to give playing time to young players like Tchouaméni (8 selections, half as holder), preferred to Adrien Rabiot in the midfield, or Nkunku, aligned from the start alongside Giroud for his very first gathering. The Leipzig striker showed desire and availability, without however being decisive. He had his chance on a free kick from Antoine Griezmann, in particular, but his header missed the target (31st).
In a balanced match, the public at the Vélodrome had few opportunities to catch fire… and it was the “coaching” of Didier Deschamps, former player and legendary coach of OM, who offered him the most fun! In the second half, the coach launched the novice William Saliba (59th) and the little capped Mattéo Guendouzi (75th), the two Marseillais of the team, triggering loud applause when they entered the game and then on each of their interventions. , celebrated with joyful “olé”.
In addition to Nkunku and Saliba, Jonathan Clauss also experienced the happiness of a first selection. The 29-year-old Lensois was warmly applauded when he entered the game, quite the opposite of Rabiot, the ex-Parisian, who collected strong whistles. The deliverance signed by Tchouaméni came from a corner taken by Guendouzi who will keep good memories of his first at the Vélodrome with the jersey of the world champions on his back.