France looked sluggish at times, but could at least rely on gifted teenager Kingsley Coman in a 3-2 win over Cameroon on Monday in their penultimate warm-up game for the Euro 2016 campaign on home soil.
France snatched victory with a last-gasp Dimitri Payet free-kick, but it was Coman who caught the eye as the 19-year-old Bayern Munich winger set up a goal and made his presence felt all over the pitch until he came off in the 77th minute.
His performance confirmed that the hosts can bank on young talent up front in the June 10 to July 10 tournament.
Photo: AFP
France opened the scoring after 20 minutes in the western port city when midfielder Blaise Matuidi volleyed home a fine cross by Coman, starting a match for France for the first time.
Cameroon leveled two minutes later, with Vincent Aboubacar catching the home defense off guard to tap in from close range.
Striker Olivier Giroud put the hosts ahead from a Paul Pogba cross four minutes before the break.
The second half proved relatively uneventful until Eric Choupo Moting equalized from close range two minutes from time before Payet popped up with the winner at the death.
France boast a string of impressive forwards and fine midfielders, but have been hampered by defensive woes in their build-up to the Euros.
Versatile defender Jeremy Mathieu and center-back Raphael Varane have been ruled out of the tournament with injuries.
Their backline, with Laurent Koscielny and Adil Rami paired in central defense for the first time in four years, looked shaky against a determined Cameroon side and is likely to be France coach Didier Deschamps’ main concern.
“Everything was not perfect, but at least the spirit we need was there and that is the most important thing,” said Deschamps, who learned his trade with Nantes before captaining France to their 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 triumphs.
“We have things to work on, it is true, but we have a group of players and all of them know they can play a role,” he told French television channel TF1.
Deschamps made it clear he would not call up Mamadou Sakho, even though media had reported the Liverpool defender’s provisional 30-day ban for a failed drug test is unlikely to be extended by UEFA.
France were without striker Antoine Griezmann, who enjoyed a great season, but was rested after his Atletico Madrid side lost to city rivals Real Madrid in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final.
Les Bleus are to face Scotland in their final warm-up game on Saturday in Metz, France. They are to play Romania in the opening game of the tournament on June 10 at the Stade de France and are also to meet Albania and Switzerland in Group A.
Elsewhere, Sweden were held to a 0-0 draw by Slovenia in their international friendly on Monday.
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