France came into Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD, looking for a second straight win after thumping Brazil 2-1 on Thursday afternoon. The two sides are competing as part of the new “Road to 26” set of friendlies. Désiré Doué earned a brace for France while Jaminton Campaz earned a consolation goal for Colombia. The crowd of 60,734 is the second-highest attended soccer match in the stadium’s history, behind a matchup between FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United on July 26, 2017.
The French starting XI – Brice Samba, Pierre Kalulu, Maxence Lacroix, Lucas Hernandez, Lucas Digne, Warren Zaïre-Emery, N’Golo Kanté (c), Maghnes Akliouche, Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué, Marcus Thuram.
The Colombia starting XI – Álvaro Montero, Daniel Muñoz, Dávinson Sánchez, Juan David Cabal, Johan Mojica, Jefferson Lerma, Richard Ríos, Jhon Arias, James Rodríguez (c), Luis Díaz, Luis Suárez
Pierre Zaïre-Emery had the first official shot on goal just two minutes into the match. After receiving the ball just outside the box, the Frenchman took a chance from distance but sailed just wide of the post. Richard Rios raced down to the opposite end with a response of his own from distance, but it too sailed wide of the post.
Désiré Doué put France on the board in the 30th minute. With traffic in the box, Akliouche distributed the ball until it reached Doué, who had a step on his defender. His shot skimmed across the grass, deflected off a defender, and glided into the back of the net.
The French doubled their lead with a class header from Marcus Thuram in the 41st minute. Maghnes Akliouche had the ball down the right flank, cut back, and crossed the ball into the center of the box. Thuram out-jumped two defenders to connect with a header that sailed past Álvaro Montero.
We will show again that the French National Team is ready.”
French National Team’s Maxence Lacroix
11 minutes into the second half, France found themselves three goals ahead with no signs of letting up. Thuram sent a cross to Doué, whose one-timed shot beat Montero. Colombia was able to pull one back in the 77th minute thanks to Jaminton Campaz.
Colombia upped their defending as France brought on their stars in the second half. A clutch save by Montero was almost upended when the ball landed at the feet of Mbappé. He dribbled around Montero for what looked like a guaranteed goal, when Colombia’s Deiver Machado appeared out of nowhere to make the goal line clearance and keep the match within reach.
“I think it’s really important,” said Maxence Lacroix on the importance of friendlies like these. “When you play against these types of teams, who are really technical, we play good enough football to beat any team.”
This match was a case where the scoreline did not accurately reflect the true essence of the match. France showed total dominance from start to finish and could’ve scored more. Effectively maximizing its second team, France proved that their dominance is ever-present and its depth is endless. With superstars that never even took the pitch, Les Bleus are in fantastic form and look to strengthen themselves even more before the start of the World Cup.
For Colombia, it was a match to forget. Missed chance after missed chance plagued Los Parceros, who were lucky to get the consolation goal in the second half. The Road to 26 slate of matches continues with the Ivory Coast facing Scotland on March 31 in Liverpool, England.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Tony Rebornn