Concluding their preparations for Euro 2024, France take on Canada at the Stade Matmut Atlantique in Sunday evening's international friendly.
Didier Deschamps's men ran out convincing 3-0 victors over Luxembourg in their first fixture of the month, while their visitors were crushed 4-0 by the Netherlands on Thursday evening.
Match preview
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Neither of France's opening two results of 2024 - a 2-0 loss to Germany and nervy 3-2 win over Chile - would have raised hopes of ending their agonising wait for Euros glory this summer, but Deschamps's charges were as dominant as expected in Wednesday's battle against Luxembourg.
On the back of officially being announced as a Real Madrid player - potentially the worst-kept secret in football - Kylian Mbappe had a direct hand in all three Bleus goals, laying on assists for Randal Kolo Muani and Jonathan Clauss before putting the cherry on top.
By registering helpers for Kolo Muani and Clauss's efforts, Mbappe took his assists tally for the national team to a staggering 27 - a number that not even Zinedine Zidane nor Thierry Henry could manage - helping to reignite belief that France are one of the undisputed favourites for Euro 2024 glory.
Before Les Bleus can begin to dream of continental stardom, challenging group fixtures with the Netherlands, an in-form Austria and 2022 World Cup foes Poland must be navigated this month, but a third-straight friendly victory is the next item on Deschamps's agenda.
The aforementioned 2-0 loss to Germany represents the only loss that France have been subjected to in their last nine home battles, as each of the other eight have ended in victory, including their record-breaking 14-0 annihilation of Gibraltar in Euro 2024 qualifying.
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Meanwhile, Sunday's battle will see Canada pit their wits against the second of three Euro 2024 Group D teams, having tested their mettle against the Dutch on Thursday evening, but Jesse Marsch's men were no match for their counterparts in orange.
Memphis Depay, Jeremie Frimpong, Wout Weghorst and Virgil van Dijk were all on target in a 4-0 Dutch mauling, thereby condemning former Leeds United and RB Leipzig boss Marsch to the worst possible start in his first game in charge of the Canucks.
Obtaining his first victory at the helm at the second time of asking this Sunday will be another tall order for Marsch, whose side are also gearing up for their own continental championships, taking part in their final friendly before the Copa America begins.
Chile, Peru and reigning world champions Argentina also reside in Group A with first-time participants Canada, who bested Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 in a CONCACAF Nations League playoff in March to earn their tournament ticket, although Marsch may have to work a miracle if his side are to advance to the latter stages.
First and foremost, attention turns to just a second-ever meeting with France, whom they faced in their first-ever World Cup match in the 1986 edition, but a solitary Jean-Pierre Papin strike was enough to propel Les Bleus to a 1-0 win on that occasion.
Team News
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Deschamps has been handed an untimely defensive scare ahead of Sunday's friendly and indeed the Euros, as Bayern Munich centre-back Dayot Upamecano was withdrawn at half time in the win over Luxembourg, reportedly due to a thigh complaint.
Upamecano was expected to partner Ibrahima Konate at this summer's championships, and while it is still unclear how severe his problem is, his loss will most likely be William Saliba's gain for this weekend at the very least.
No other fitness concerns arose for Les Bleus on Wednesday, where the returning N'Golo Kante was given the nod in midfield due to Aurelien Tchouameni's foot injury, but the Real Madrid man still made the bench at the Stade de France.
Blancos teammates Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy were also omitted from the starting XI after their Champions League final exploits, although the former was brought on for a brief cameo in the dying embers.
As for the Canadians, Alphonso Davies made it through the entire 90 minutes against the Netherlands following an injury scare, but Alistair Johnston was only on the field for 56 minutes before succumbing to an unspecified issue.
Either Richie Laryea or Dominick Zator should fill in for the stricken Celtic man if needs be, while Lille forward Jonathan David squares up to some of his Ligue 1 colleagues past and present in an offensive partnership with Cyle Larin, the two highest male scorers in Canada's history.
France possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Konate, Hernandez; Rabiot, Kante; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Thuram
Canada possible starting lineup:
St. Clair; Laryea, Miller, Cornelius, Davies; Buchanan, Eustaquio, Kone, Hoilett; David, Larin
We say: France 3-0 Canada
There was not a shred of new manager bounce for Canada during Thursday's heavy defeat to the Netherlands, and Marsch's troops are also working around a shorter recuperation time compared to their Euro 2024 hopefuls.
Consequently, Deschamps's men should encounter few roadblocks en route to another straightforward triumph before jetting off to their German base.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
