French national team ended their American tour with a convincing 3-1 victory over Colombia on Sunday, March 29. Facing another World Cup qualified team, Didier Deschamps was able to conduct his final tests before revealing his squad for the World Cup in mid-May, with many changes and a completely overhauled starting eleven.
• Substitutes shine. Despite the reshuffling of the French team, they stood out. The usual substitutes, who played for their spots in the final World Cup squad in a few weeks, performed well. Désiré Doué, with a brace, and Marcus Thuram, scorer and provider, seized the opportunity, along with Warren Zaïre-Emery and Rayan Cherki, who were valuable in the midfield.
• Successful American tour. On the other side of the Atlantic, the French team achieved two victories. Three days after a prestigious win against Brazil (2-1), they then dominated Colombia, ranked thirteenth in the FIFA rankings. A “very positive sporting assessment” against “two very good South American teams,” according to coach Didier Deschamps, who was very satisfied with his players on TF1.
• No record yet for Kylian Mbappé. Coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute, just after the Colombian goal, the French team captain Kylian Mbappé failed to score and equal Olivier Giroud’s record as the top French goalscorer. The Real Madrid striker thought he had scored after beating Montero in the opposing penalty area (90+4), but was ruled offside.
