France internationals Aurelien Tchouameni and Lucas Hernandez have brushed aside concerns over their World Cup readiness after suffering a surprise 2-1 defeat by Ivory Coast in a friendly match on Thursday, insisting the setback will serve as a useful reminder rather than a cause for alarm.
The French led through a superb first-half goal from Rayan Cherki on Thursday, but they were overrun after the break as Guela Doue and Amad Diallo turned the game around for the Elephants in Nantes.
With France opening their World Cup campaign against Senegal in New York on June 16, midfielder Tchouameni said the result should be viewed in the context of preparations.
“It’s a pity to lose, but we’re in a preparation phase; we stay confident,” the Real Madrid star said.
“There is no conclusion to draw from this game, even if we had won it. We will be ready.”
Hernandez also played down the significance of the defeat.
“We always want to win, but we’re in a phase of preparation, and there were a lot of substitutions. We’re in good spirits.”
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Head coach Didier Deschamps, however, admitted that his side had lost control of the contest after an encouraging opening 45 minutes.
He warned that France would face opponents with similar qualities to Ivory Coast in the United States.
“A defeat is never pleasant, even if we did some good things in the first half,” Deschamps said.
“In the second half we made a lot of changes, but that’s no excuse. We were not as good after the break, and they brought a lot of pace.
“We will face the same type of team on June 16.”
He added that the result could prove useful if it prevented his players from becoming complacent before the tournament.
“It’s a reminder, if we needed one, not to think we’re better than we are,” he said.
France would be gunning for a third World Cup title, after emerging champions in 1998 and 2018.
Les Blues lost on penalties to Argentina in the final in 2022 after a dramatic 3-3 draw which saw Kylian Mbappe netting a hat-trick and Lionel Messi bagging a brace.
