Overview
The French team once again showed their superiority in the UEFA qualifiers when they easily won tickets to the World Cup. Les Bleus closed Group D with convincing victories, 4-0 against Ukraine and 3-1 against Azerbaijan, before quickly focusing on the summer campaign.
Although only for friendly purposes, the confrontation with Brazil is still considered a quality test in the preparation process of Didier Deschamps' team. The confrontation between the two World Cup championship candidates held in Massachusetts witnessed Kylian Mbappe's moment of brilliance, with a delicate finish to open the score, and at the same time help him approach Olivier Giroud's all-time scoring record.
In a difficult match after Dayot Upamecano received a red card, Hugo Ekitike promptly scored the decisive goal. Although Brazil narrowed the score to 1-2 in the final minutes, France still maintained the victory, thereby extending their impressive streak.
The victory in Boston helped Les Bleus increase their unbeaten streak to eight, including seven wins since the defeat to Spain in the Nations League semi-finals.
Coach Didier Deschamps - one of the few who have ever won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach - is heading towards his final World Cup on the coaching bench. With a remarkable squad depth, choosing the optimal squad will be a significant challenge, and the upcoming match is seen as an opportunity for him to continue screening personnel.
On the opposite side, Colombia just ended their unbeaten streak for a year after losing to Croatia. Jhon Arias opened the scoring early at Orlando, but the South American representative conceded twice before halftime and could not reverse the situation.
However, Los Cafeteros can still be proud of their previous stable performance, maintaining an unbeaten record for 12 months since losing to Brazil in March last year.
Ranked 14th in the world by FIFA, coach Nestor Lorenzo's team will face France (3rd place) in a friendly match that tests their ability clearly.
In head-to-head history, the two teams have shown themselves to be quite balanced when each side has two wins after four encounters. The most memorable is the confrontation at the 2003 Confederations Cup, when Thierry Henry scored the decisive goal to bring victory to the French team.
Personnel situation
Despite possessing a remarkable force depth, the French team is still being affected by the absence of some potential pillars. Midfielder Manu Kone (Roma), defender Jules Kounde (Barcelona) and winger Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain) are all unable to participate in this gathering.
In that context, Ekitike was given a replacement opportunity and left a positive mark in the match against Brazil. In defense, Maxence Lacroix was also used as a replacement for center-back William Saliba.
After fielding the almost strongest squad in the previous match, Deschamps is likely to rotate the force. Names like Pierre Kalulu, Rayan Cherki or experienced midfielder N'Golo Kante are expected to have the opportunity to show themselves to compete for a World Cup spot.
On the other side, captain James Rodriguez is approaching a memorable milestone when he is preparing to wear the national team jersey for the 124th time, only 5 matches behind David Ospina's all-time record.
However, Colombia also suffered a personnel loss when veteran defender Yerry Mina was absent due to injury, along with striker Jhon Duran who could not participate in the US tour.
Expected lineup:
Colombia: Vargas, Munoz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Cabal, Lerma, Rios, J. Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz, Suarez.
France: Maignan, Kalulu, Konate, Lacroix, Digne, Kante, Rabiot, Olise, Cherki, Ekitike, Mbappe.
The match between Colombia and France takes place at 2:00 AM on March 30 (Vietnam time).
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