France's 2026 World Cup Prep Ends in Shock Defeat, History Raises a Red Flag
France went into Thursday’s friendly against Ivory Coast as heavy favorites. They came out with a 2-1 loss and a lot of uncomfortable questions.
It started well enough. Rayan Cherki, Manchester City’s star midfielder, drilled home the first goal just before halftime, putting France in full control heading into the break.
Then head coach Didier Deschamps shuffled his entire lineup, and everything unraveled.
Guela Doué, playing against his own brother Désiré’s national team, leveled things up in the 53rd minute, then teed up Amad Diallo to slot home the winner with six minutes to go in regulation.
The final score was Ivory Coast 2, France 1. Les Bleus dominated possession 59.7% to Les Éléphants’ 40.3% and attempted twice as many shots on goal (six to three).
Deschamps acknowledged his side lost control after halftime and warned that France will face opponents with similar qualities to Ivory Coast at the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We will face the same type of team on June 16,” he said. That’s when France open against Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
However, the real storyline came after the final whistle in a shocking realization.
On June 4, 2010, exactly 16 years ago to the day, France lost 1-0 to China in their final warm-up before the World Cup. Thursday’s defeat to Ivory Coast is the first time since that game that France has dropped a pre-tournament friendly before a major tournament.
And what happened after China? One of the most catastrophic World Cup collapses in soccer history.
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After the shocking defeat to China, France failed to win a single game in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, finishing dead bottom in a group that featured Uruguay, Mexico, and hosts South Africa.
Les Bleus were the only team in their group to finish without a single victory, stunning for a squad that had just reached the 2006 final.
Striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home mid-tournament after having a fallout with the coach, Raymond Domenech, and that triggered a full-blown player revolt, with the squad picking up just one point in three group games and scoring only once.
The entire World Cup squad was subsequently banned from France’s next fixture, and the five ringleaders of the mutiny were named, shamed, and suspended.
Domenech was gone. Anelka got an 18-game ban. The whole thing was a disaster.
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Now, to be fair, this France team is nothing like that one.
Les Bleus are currently the second favorites to win the tournament at +475, behind only Spain (+450).
The Opta supercomputer gives them a 13% chance of lifting the trophy, second only to Spain’s 16%.
Mbappé is healthy, Deschamps has continuity, and the squad is loaded with talent.
But their group is also very competitive. Group I features Senegal, Norway, and Iraq, leaving France little margin for error, with the supercomputer giving five other teams a better chance of reaching the knockout stages than Les Bleus do.
Senegal can match France physically and emotionally, while Norway remains one of the dark horses in the tournament built around stars like Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Alexander Sorloth, and Sander Berge.
Simply put, this is not a group France can sleepwalk through. And so far, history isn’t on their side either.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 11:48 AM.