The essential
- First match of 2022 for the Blues this Friday: the France team receives Côte d’Ivoire at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, in a friendly match. Kick-off scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Didier Deschamps’ men will then travel to the other end of France, to Lille, to host South Africa also in a friendly.
- The opportunity, no doubt, to see in the blue-white-red jersey the newcomers called by the coach on the occasion of this gathering: Jonathan Clauss, Christopher Nkunku and William Saliba, who could know this Wednesday evening his first selection in the stadium of “his” club, Olympique de Marseille.
- Didier Deschamps renews the 3-5-2 which sparked at the end of 2021, after the disappointment of the Euro. Of particular note are the tenures of Olivier Giroud and Christopher Nkunku, who relieve Karim Benzema, injured and not summoned, and Kylian Mbappé, who is recovering from an ENT infection.
Live preview:
20h30. On the Ivorian side, some players are well known to European football fans. Among these, it will be necessary to be particularly wary of Sébastien Haller, who is having the best season of his career in the jersey of Ajax Amsterdam: 33 goals scored in 35 games in all competitions. Born in Ris-Orangis, in Essonne, to a French father and an Ivorian mother, he told us his story.
8:25 p.m. The composition of the Ivorian Elephants is also known. Patrice Beaumelle aligns a 4-3-3: B. Sangaré – Aurier, Boly, Bailly, Konan – I. Sangaré, Kessié, Seri – Zaha, Haller, Pépé.
8:15 p.m. The composition of the Blues has just fallen. As expected, Olivier Giroud is the starter for his big return to the Blues alongside Christopher Nkunku, who “takes advantage” of Kylian Mbappé’s recovery to afford his first tenure with the Blues. Behind, it’s very close to what we saw at the end of last year, with Antoine Griezmann behind the two attackers, two pistons (Théo Hernandez and Kingsley Coman), three central defenders (Lucas Hernandez, Jules Koundé , Raphaël Varane), and an enticing double pivot (Paul Pogba, Aurélien Tchouaméni).
20h15. Hello everyone! Have you decided to follow this friendly match between France and Côte d’Ivoire with us? You made the right choice. Kick-off in an hour on the dot!