FEATURE | Cherki, Konaté, Thuram: Three winners and three losers as France fall to defeat against Ivory Coast | OneFootball

Ivory Coast came from behind against France in what is Les Bleus’ penultimate match before the FIFA World Cup (1-2). We look at the winners and losers from Thursday’s friendly at the Beaujoire. 

WINNER: Rayan Cherki

The standout player on the night by a long way, Rayan Cherki’s name rang around the Beaujoire when he came off on 78 minutes. He is something of a wildcard, someone that you always want on the pitch because, even when he is a touch off his best, he is still capable of providing brilliance. That was the case against Ivory Coast. 

He was too nonchalant and squandered his first chance, but he has an eagerness to get on the ball and make things happen. Players that stand up to be counted are valuable. After his mixed start, which lacked simplicity and efficiency in key attacking phases, he burst into life around the half-hour mark and ran the show for a 15-minute period that ended in a spectacular goal for the Manchester City forward. 

He reverted to forcing the issue in the second-half as he fell out of sync; the five substitutes at half-time certainly didn’t help matters. But his tricks and flicks continued to wow the crowd. Finding a place in this France attack will be a tall order, especially when you add Ousmane Dembélé, rested on the night, to the mix. But he stated his case.

WINNER: Didier Deschamps

It is nice to be loved, to feel supported. That hasn’t always been the case for Didier Deschamps. Especially since Euro 2024, there has been a perceived désamour around the France national team. With the immensely popular Zinédine Zidane primed to replace him post-World Cup, there is anticipation and a desire for renewal. There is a perception that things have gotten stale and the conservatism of Deschamps, contrasted to a perception that Zidane will bring verve and a vibrant new tilt to this exciting and talented team, has cast the current manager as yesterday’s man. 

The feeling that Deschamps may have outstayed his welcome threatened to spoil the atmosphere in what is his final tournament as manager of Les Bleus. But, in his penultimate game on French soil, there was an outpouring of support. A large tifo in his image, chants of “Deschamps” ringing around the Beaujoire, masks of the former Olympique de Marseille and AS Monaco manager, and banners expressing support and gratitude: a rare show of appreciation for Deschamps’ incredible work and a rare show of emotion in response to that support. It probably helps going into a major tournament feeling the support of the nation; that isn’t always a given, and the impact of that isn’t negligible. 

WINNER: Marcus Thuram

Given France’s attacking arsenal, questions are always asked about Marcus Thuram’s continued place in the side – and rightly so. His record, three goals in 34 games for Les Bleus, is far from elite and competition for places is intense. But he retains Deschamps’ trust and is seen as the first-choice option on the left. 

He is a striker who thrives through the middle, notably with a centre-forward partner, as is the case at Inter Milan. His form for the Italian side has never been truly replicated at the international level. But this was one of his better performances. There were no goals and assists to add to his meagre tally in Bleu, but many of the best moves came down his side and he combined well with Theo Hernandez and Kylian Mbappé. The overlapping Hernandez allowed Thuram to drift more central, which benefitted him, and it was good to see a striker, whose major asset is his physical presence and link-up, not hugging the touchline. 

LOSER: Jules Koundé

Right-back has been an issue for much of Deschamps’ reign as manager. He has often complained about France’s production problem in this position, and it has forced him to bring in all kinds of full-backs of all kinds of styles. However, in recent years, he has settled on Jules Koundé. A centre-back by trade, he is naturally more defensive and conservative in profile. However, he has struggled at Barcelona this season. 

Ordinarily, his drop-off wouldn’t overly threaten his place in the line-up; Malo Gusto has not exactly set the world alight at Chelsea and his profile, more attacking in nature, is not what Deschamps will necessarily seek from his starting right-back. But then there is the emergence of Warren Zaire-Emery as a right-back option. He has excelled in that position for Paris Saint-Germain, and, given Koundé’s struggles, his position may come under threat. 

He was unconvincing, nervy, and lacking in confidence in the early stages and Yan Diomandé, despite his inability to get into the game, had the upper hand in that individual battle. Given his lack of upside on the ball, Koundé will need to rediscover his defensive resilience.

LOSER: Ibrahima Konaté

There is potentially an opening for Ibrahima Konaté, whose exit from Liverpool has been confirmed. Managing a back issue, William Saliba’s minutes may have to be managed during the World Cup. Konaté may play a more central role than initially thought. Naturally, his performance was one to closely scrutinise.

Deschamps is looking for guarantees in this sector of the pitch, but Konaté did not provide them on the night. It wasn’t a glaring error that allowed the Ivory Coast to equalise through Guéla Doué, but he was flat-footed and lacked the anticipation that may have allowed him to otherwise cut out the pass through. If fully fit, as is expected, Saliba is even more firmly the uncontested No.1 in the left-centre-back position. Without getting on the pitch, the Arsenal man was one of the winners of the night. 

LOSER: France’s fringe players

The second half provided chances for some of France’s fringe players to stake a claim. They all failed, bar none. Maghnes Akliouche struggled to link up with his teammates and have an influence on proceedings, N’Golo Kanté simply looked a step off it, whilst Malo Gusto, Maxence Lacroix (to a lesser degree) and Lucas Hernandez provided fewer assurances than the players they replaced. You can argue that the conditions for them to impress weren’t optimal, given how many changes were made (10 in total in the second half). This is the time that these kinds of players will want to give Deschamps selection headaches. They didn’t do that. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle