France comes from behind to beat Chile in friendly – ​​Firstpost

Olivier Giroud was among the scorers as France recovered from losing another early goal to claim a 3-2 friendly victory over Chile at the Vélodrome de Marseille on Tuesday.

The Euro 2024 favorites were left reeling after conceding just eight seconds into their match against Germany in Lyon last weekend, which they went on to lose 2-0.

This time they fell behind inside six minutes thanks to a goal from Marcelino Nunez, but came back strongly with goals from Youssouf Fofana, Randal Kolo Muani and Giroud, before Dario Osorio grabbed a second for Chile in end of match.

The result will allay some of the doubts that surrounded the French team after their flat performance against Germany, as they prepare for the European Championship in June and July.

However, it was far from a first-choice French side, with captain Kylian Mbappe and midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni the only players to be retained in the starting line-up, with coach Didier Deschamps making nine changes .

These included Marseille right-back Jonathan Clauss and Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, both injured in the first half in situations that will worry their respective clubs.

“If we want to do well in June, we will have to do much better than that,” admitted Deschamps ahead of the Euro where France will face the Netherlands, Austria and Poland in the group stage.

“I’m not going to jump for joy tonight. It’s good to have won the game after a bad start, and it’s always good to score three goals, even if we concede two.

“We will have to do things differently (at the Euro),” he added.

“We have the capacity, we have the desire, but we will also need freshness which we lacked a little tonight.

France looked in danger of losing consecutive matches for the first time since June 2015, as they fell behind to a Chilean side preparing for the Copa America.

Norwich City’s Nunez scored the opening goal for a Chilean side playing their second match under new Argentina manager Ricardo Gareca.

Clauss then suffered a hamstring injury and had to limp off, but France equalized in the 18th minute.

Skipper Mbappe, winning his 77th cap seven years and a day after making his France debut, played the ball back to Fofana, and the Monaco midfielder found the net with a shot from just outside the surface which was slightly deviated upon entering.

The 2022 World Cup finalist then took the lead in the 25th minute when Paris Saint-Germain striker Kolo Muani headed in a Theo Hernandez cross.

Camavinga came off just before the break, and France then scored their third goal in the 72nd minute thanks to superb work from Kolo Muani on the right before cutting the ball back for Giroud to score.

It was a 57th international goal for Giroud, 37, who is France’s all-time top scorer.

Chile grabbed another late with a fine strike into Osorio’s far corner, as they prepare for the Copa America in the United States in June, in which they will face title holders L Argentina, Peru and Canada in the group stage.