Only one friendly match is registered in the program of the Blues before the Olympic Games (July 22-August 8), and they did not miss it: they dominated this Friday afternoon South Korea (2-1), thanks with two goals scored by substitutes, Randal Kolo Muani (84th) and Nathanaël Mbuku (89th).
In the heat of Seoul, the coach Sylvain Ripoll had aligned what looks like a typical team, arranged in 4-3-3, and it is André-Pierre Gignac who wore, as expected, the captain’s armband. The Monterrey Tigres striker created the first chance with a header (12th), but the match remained fairly calm until the break. It was animated at the hour of play, when a foul on Nordin was not whistled: the French were surprised by the action that continued, and Modibo Sagnan caused an indisputable penalty, transformed by Kwon Changhoon (0-1, 60th), who led the Korean attack with Bordeaux Hwang Ui Jo.
Remained in the match thanks to a parade from Bernardoni (67th), the Blues believed they could equalize when Gignac rolled up his shot, not on target (68th), and Ripoll decided in the wake of widely renewing his team, which has been preparing since a week in Asia. Michelin, Nordin, Tousart and Gignac came out (69th), replaced by Pembélé, Mbuku, Beka Beka and Kolo Muani, who therefore equalized after a nice collective movement initiated by Savanier. The Montpellierain recovered the armband and centered for Bard, whose delivery was taken over by Caci and pushed into the goal by Kolo Muani (1-1, 84th).
As all the field players had been launched, the Blues match was already successful but goalkeeper Ahn Joonsoo gave them a nice gift, letting Mbuku’s harmless strike pass between his legs (2-1). With this victory, the French can calmly join Tokyo this Saturday, before starting their Olympic tournament next Thursday against Mexico.
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