At Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, late light and a tense crowd watched Amad Diallo strike in the 84th minute to give Ivory Coast a 2-1 win over France. The visitors overturned a halftime deficit after Rayan Cherki had put France ahead in first-half added time, then Guela Doué levelled early in the second half before Diallo's winner. The match was France's final home tune-up before the 2026 World Cup and a late confidence boost for Ivory Coast ahead of the tournament. France will open their World Cup campaign against Senegal on June 16 while Ivory Coast begin Group E against Ecuador on June 15.

The Stade de la Beaujoire crowd had barely settled when Rayan Cherki collected a pass from Ibrahima Konaté, drove into space and placed the finish in the bottom-right corner in the 45th minute, firing France in front just before the break.

France started the game with the upper hand in possession and created several early chances, but that control did not translate into a comfortable lead. Cherki's opener came from a quick sequence that began with Konaté's distribution and ended with the Lyon playmaker finding the gap behind the Ivorians' defence. The hosts took that slender advantage into the interval, but it proved unstable.

Ivory Coast responded in the second half. In the 53rd minute Guela Doué finished a neat attacking move that capitalised on defensive lapses to level the score. That goal shifted momentum; the visitors grew into the match and their substitutes and tactical adjustments supplied fresh energy. The decisive moment arrived in the 84th minute when Doué delivered a cross that Amad Diallo met with a well-taken strike to beat goalkeeper Mike Maignan and make it 2-1.

Didier Deschamps made sweeping changes early in the second half, replacing roughly half of his outfield players, but the substitutions did not restore cohesion or produce an equaliser. The hosts were dominant in possession yet toothless in the final third and exposed defensively after halftime. Ivory Coast, by contrast, used their bench and a clearer game plan to seize control late on.

The result finishes France's run of home friendlies on a sour note ahead of their trip to the World Cup. For Ivory Coast, the win is a timely confidence boost at the end of a European warm-up schedule. Both teams will now travel to their tournament bases with different immediate tasks: France to steady their attacking combinations and defensive shape, Ivory Coast to preserve the momentum supplied by substitutes and late goals.

On the day, the decisive details were simple. Cherki's half-break finish delivered a first-half lead. Guela Doué's 53rd-minute equaliser punished lapses at the back. And Amad Diallo's 84th-minute strike, fed by Doué's cross, settled the contest and left France to look at their options before the World Cup opener.

Related Articles

They leave Nantes with different tasks: France to steady attacking combinations and defensive shape, and Ivory Coast to preserve the momentum supplied by substitutes. The image that travels with the visitors is Diallo's 84th-minute winner, fed by Doué's cross.

This article was created with AI assistance.