France in Northern Ireland Test in Lille: Last Rehearsal Before the World Cup

Before the match to be played at the huge stadium in Lille, the France side has reached the end of a busy calendar. William Saliba, who played in the UEFA Champions League final, and Paris Saint-Germain's five players (Ousmane Dembelé, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Lucas Hernández) had started from the bench in the Ivory Coast match. Deschamps' team entered the process of determining the XI again after this defeat suffered in Nantes last Thursday. Despite the goal scored by Mbappe in this match, which was the only defeat in the last 10 matches before France, it was not possible to overcome the bad luck of the moon-and-stars. Deschamps is expected to come onto the field with a more experienced XI against Northern Ireland and to gradually adapt his players who got tired especially after the Champions League final to training.

On the Mbappe side, eyes are on the breaking of an individual record. The star player wearing the Real Madrid jersey is only one goal away from the France National Team goal record of 57 goals held by Olivier Giroud. The star player will catch the chance to equal or surpass this record in Lille after the goal he scored against Ivory Coast. France is in Group I rather than Group D at the World Cup; Les Bleus will play the opening match of the tournament against Senegal in New Jersey on June 16, then face Iraq in Philadelphia on June 22 and Norway in Foxborough on June 26. The last group match against Norway, led by Erling Haaland, is critical for France, one of the championship favourites; in fact, although Norway is shown as 31st in the FIFA ranking, the evaluation of its technical squad is different.

The Northern Ireland side presents a confident picture against France. The Green-and-White army has beaten Guinea in Cadiz in their last preparation match; the team under manager Michael O'Neill had displayed a positive performance in the first preparation match played with Wales. However, the fact that Tom Atcheson, who wears the Blackburn jersey, will not be able to play in Lille due to the direct red card he received in the Guinea match on Thursday is an important deficiency for Northern Ireland. Trai Hume is expected to come onto the field in his place. The vast majority of the starting XI appears to remain in the squad of the previous preparation match. This match coincides with a period when Northern Ireland is not competing in the World Cup qualifying round; the team is trying to gain experience for its young squad by spending the summer of 2026 with international preparation matches. The result it will get against France is to be evaluated as important data in terms of player motivation and long-term squad planning.

Deschamps is expected to make his critical decisions today in the last week. Since it is not clear whether Saliba will play or not, the central defender duo of Ibrahima Konaté and Dayot Upamecano is expected to form on the field. The competition for left-back between Lucas Digne and Theo Hernandez continues, while Jules Kounde is expected to maintain his place on the right-back. In the midfield, Aurelien Tchouameni is expected to be on the field in his pass-distributor role, and young names like Maghnes Akliouche and Rayan Cherki are foreseen to accompany him. In the attack line, captain Kylian Mbappe is expected to be on the field in the centre-forward role, with Michael Olise and Marcus Thuram on the wings. After the match-end image, the World Cup opening XI on the Deschamps side will largely be clear.

Probable Lineups

France (4-2-3-1, Deschamps): Goalkeeper: Maignan Defence: Kounde, Upamecano, Konate, L. Hernandez Midfield: Tchouameni, Akliouche, Cherki Attack: Olise, Mbappe, Thuram

Northern Ireland (Michael O'Neill): Goalkeeper: P. Charles Defence: McConville, Hume, Brown Midfield: Smyth, McDonnell, S. Charles, Devenny Attack: Donley, Price, Reid

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