Emerse Faé deserves a lot of credit as he pulled off quite an 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 favorite France.

But Thursday's result now raises concerns about France’s scoring efficiency and its killer instinct to put a winnable game away. It also now puts the spotlight on an Ivory Coast team that could now be one of the potential dark horses of the tournament. 

The defining story of this game was how Ivory Coast turned the tide of the game and rose 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:

France controlled the game in Nantes in the early going but could not put the game away. It wasn’t until Rayan Cherki’s 45th minute goal when Les Bleus found the back of the net. 

French manager Didier Deschamps made the obvious decision to not start the players who recently won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, notably Ousmane Dembélé. That still left impressive quality such as Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaire-Emery, Désiré Doué, and Lucas Hernández on the bench. Despite that, France was able to start a first-rate attack including Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Thuram, and Michael Olise. 

The Ivory Coast did well enough to keep the game scoreless at 0-0 for as long as it did and in fact had a chance to strike first when Simon Adingra took advantage of a mistake from Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni to go one on one with keeper Mike Maignan, only to see the AC Milan man come up with the save. 

Despite the edge in the first half, France was wasteful throughout. Mbappé saw a good chance saved by Yahia Fofana in the opening minutes. Thuram and Olise would also fail to take advantage of goal-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 goalscorer, but has faced criticism of his finishing inefficiency and missed chances close to goal. This game, played in front of home fans, will only increase these concerns. 

Ultimately, their failure to put the game away in the first half sunk them. Where France was wasteful, Ivory Coast was clinical as the team equalized in the 53rd minute when Guéla Doué was sent in alone on Maignan with a perfect pass from Villarreal’s Pépé. Then, in the 84th minute, it was Doué setting up Diallo with a pass from the right wing which the Manchester United attacker was able to finish from the middle of the box.

At the World Cup, chances will be harder to come by and unless France is able to make the most of its chances, they could find it a difficult road despite their immense talent. 

In the early goings, it seemed as if this game was going to a coast for France. Deschamps’s team was in control of the pace and had the bulk of first chances. But the Ivory Coast grew into the game and now Fae has the opportunity to lead the Ivory Coast to a meaningful win that should give it momentum heading into the World Cup. 

Playing on the road against a World Cup favorite and trailing at the half, Ivory Coast responded by playing brilliantly. In the end, the goals it scored were through impressive individual quality with passing that cut through the French midfield and backline.

In the early goings, the Ivory Coast could have become frustrated or overwhelmed, but instead they maintained their resolve, and let their individual quality play out. 

Right back Doué was the best player on the field in this game. The Strasbourg winger pushed forward in the attack effectively and was able to notch a goal and an assist. Defensively, he was also very impressive in his ability to help contain France’s attack down his side of the field. He also earned a bit of household bragging rights with the victory over his brother's team. 

Should Rayan Cherki start at the World Cup for France? (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)

On a team as talented as Les Bleus, the internal competition for minutes at the World Cup is fierce. Rayan Cherki is generally not considered a starter for a first-choice French team, but the Manchester City attacker made a great case on Thursday as he was the best player on the field in the first half. A long-time veteran of France’s youth teams and a member of the 2024 Olympic team that won the silver medal, the Lyon native has been making inroads with the full French team over the past year. 

Cherki did not make his debut for France until June 5, 2025, when he also scored his first goal. Shortly before halftime, he scored his second career international goal to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

It wasn’t just the goal, Cherki was on the ball throughout his entire 78 minutes and was consistently getting into dangerous places and finding his teammates in the attack. He ultimately was one of the few bright spots on a bad day for France. 

Guéla Doué was the standout player of the match. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)

That has been some talk about the Ivory Coast being a potential sleeper team who could make a run this summer. The team has a manageable group with Ecuador, Curaçao, and Germany rounding out Group E. 

But now, the expectations will only be heightened. A win over Curaçao should be expected and a result over Germany would take a similar level of resolve as defeating France. The game against Ecuador could be an even match. 

What should be encouraging for the Ivory Coast is that this result over France was not how a typical upset goes where a set piece, a penalty, or a red card evens the game. The Ivory Coast scored twice from the run of play with first-rate passing and effective finishing. What this game showed was that Ivory Coast as the talent to play with the best and the players are confident in their ability. 

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