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Emerse Faé deserves a lot of credit as he made quite the upset in his hometown. The Ivory Coast manager, born in the French city of Nantes, led the team he once represented as a player to one of the biggest shocks in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup by beating tournament favorites France.
But Thursday’s result now raises concerns about France’s scoring efficiency and its killer instinct to put a winnable game away. It now also focuses on a team from the Ivory Coast, which could now be one of the tournament’s potential dark horses.
The defining story of this game was how Ivory Coast turned the tide and surged in the second half, largely through the contributions of French-born players Guéla Doué (whose brother Désiré Doué plays for France) and Nicolas Pépé. Then it was Guéla who assisted Amad Diallo on the winner.
Here are my takeaways:
1. France wastefulness a concern
France controlled the game in Nantes early on but could not put the game away. It wasn’t until Rayan Cherki’s goal in the 45th minute that Les Bleus found the back of the net.
French manager Didier Deschamps made the obvious decision not to start the players who recently won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, especially Ousmane Dembélé. That still left impressive quality like Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaire-Emery, Désiré Doué and Lucas Hernández on the bench. Despite that, France were able to field a first class attack including Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Thuram and Michael Olise.
The Ivory Coast did well to keep the game 0-0 for as long as it did and actually had a chance to strike first when Simon Adingra capitalized on a mistake by Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni to go one-on-one with keeper Mike Maignan, only to see the AC Milan man make the save.
Despite the edge in the first half, France were wasted throughout. Mbappé saw a good chance saved by Yahia Fofana in the opening minutes. Thuram and Olise would also not take advantage of scoring chances in the first half.
Mbappé was particularly guilty. The Real Madrid star trails Olivier Giroud by just one goal to become France’s all-time top scorer, but has faced criticism for his ineffectiveness in finishing and wasted chances close to goal. This game, played in front of home fans, will only add to those concerns.
Ultimately, their inability to put the game away in the first half let them down. Where France were sloppy, Ivory Coast were clinical as the team equalized in the 53rd minute when Guéla Doué was sent alone on Maignan with a perfect pass from Villarreal’s Pépé. Then, in the 84th minute, it was Doué who set up Diallo with a pass from the right, which the Manchester United striker was able to finish from the center of the box.
At the World Cup, chances will be harder to come by and unless France are able to make the most of their chances, they may find it a difficult road despite their immense talent.
2. Ivory Coast’s discipline is paying off
At first it looked like this match was going to a coast for France. Deschamps’ team controlled the tempo and had the bulk of the early chances. But Ivory Coast grew into the game and now Fae has the opportunity to lead Ivory Coast to a meaningful victory that should give them momentum heading into the World Cup.
Playing away to a World Cup favorite and trailing at half time, Ivory Coast responded by playing brilliantly. In the end, the goals it scored were through impressive individual quality with passes cutting through the French midfield and back line.
In the early going, Ivory Coast could have been frustrated or overwhelmed, but instead they maintained their determination and let their individual quality play out.
Right back Doué was the best player on the pitch in this match. The Strasbourg winger pushed forward effectively in attack and was able to record a goal and an assist. Defensively, he was also very impressive in his ability to help limit France’s attacks down his side of the pitch. He also earned some household bragging rights with the win over his brother’s team.
3. Cherki’s case to begin with
Will Rayan Cherki start at the World Cup for France? (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)
In a team as talented as Les Bleus, the internal competition for minutes at the World Cup is fierce. Rayan Cherki is not generally considered a starter for a French first-team team, but the Manchester City forward made a big splash on Thursday when he was the man of the match in the first half. A long-time veteran of France’s youth team and a member of the 2024 Olympic team that won the silver medal, the Lyon native has made inroads with the entire French team over the past year.
Cherki did not make his debut for France until 5 June 2025, where he also scored his first goal. Shortly before the break, he scored his second international goal of his career to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.
It wasn’t just the goal, Cherki was on the ball throughout his 78 minutes, constantly getting into dangerous spots and finding his teammates in attack. He was ultimately one of the few bright spots on a bad day for France.
4. Ivory Coast as a dark horse?
Guéla Doué was the outstanding player of the match. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)
There has been a lot of talk about Ivory Coast being a potential sleeper team that could make it this summer. The team has a manageable group, with Ecuador, Curaçao and Germany rounding out Group E.
But now the expectations are only being turned up. A win over Curaçao is to be expected and a result over Germany would take the same determination as defeating France. The match against Ecuador could be an even match.
What should be heartening for Ivory Coast is that this result over France was not how a typical upset plays out, with a set-piece, penalty or red card leveling the game. The Ivory Coast scored twice from the run of play with first class passing and effective finishing. What this game showed was that Ivory Coast had the talent to play with the best and the players are confident in their abilities.
