Published On 9/6/2026
By achieving victory at the end of the series of friendly matches in preparation for the World Cup, the French and Dutch teams succeeded in overcoming their recent losses against Côte d’Ivoire and Algeria, and achieved two victories that concluded the friendly stage in positive spirits.
France lost by two goals to one against Côte d’Ivoire last Thursday, June 4, and the Netherlands lost to Algeria with a clean goal on Wednesday, June 3.
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Roosters crow
The France national team concluded its preparations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico by defeating its guest Northern Ireland 3-1 in a friendly match on Monday evening. The Roosters owe this victory to Bayern Munich’s German star, Michael Oliseh, who scored the three goals in the 43rd, 49th and 75th minutes, while Patrick Kelly scored Northern Ireland’s only goal in the 64th minute.
Oliseh raised his tally to 7 goals in 17 international matches for his country’s national team. With this victory, the French team compensated for its sudden loss to Côte d’Ivoire.
Before that, the Roosters beat Brazil 2-1 and Colombia 3-1 in two friendly matches last March.
The French national team, led by its technical director, Didier Deschamps, is looking forward to winning the World Cup for the third time in its history, after Deschamps won the title as a player in the 1998 World Cup, which his country hosted, and as a coach in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
France missed out on a second consecutive crown by losing to Argentina on penalties in the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after an exciting 3-3 draw in regular and extra time at Losail Stadium.
France’s friendly against Northern Ireland was Deschamps’ last appearance as coach of his country’s national team on home soil and among the fans before the curtain came down on a 14-year career with the end of the Roosters’ World Cup campaign this summer.
The French national team will begin its campaign in the 2026 World Cup by facing Senegal next Tuesday in the ninth group competitions, after which it will face Iraq and then Norway on June 23 and 26.
The windmills are turning
On the other hand, the Dutch national team concluded its friendly preparatory matches with a last-minute victory over the Uzbekistan national team 2-1, on Monday.
The Dutch national team took the lead through Cody Gakpo in the 32nd minute from a penalty kick, but his team was affected by the numerical deficiency in its ranks after its player Gus Thiel was sent off in the 87th minute.
The Uzbekistan national team succeeded in exploiting the numerical disadvantage to its advantage, scoring the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time in the second half through Igor Sergeyev.
But the Dutch team succeeded in returning and scoring the winning goal again in the eighth minute of stoppage time in the second half through Gakpo from another penalty kick.
The Netherlands national team is preparing to play its first match in the World Cup, as it will face Japan on June 14 in the first round of Group 6, which also includes the teams of Sweden and Tunisia.
On the other hand, the Uzbekistan national team, which is participating in the World Cup for the first time in its history, will play its first match in the tournament against its Colombian counterpart on June 17, in the first round of Group 11, which also includes Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
