Thierry Henry’s France Espoirs team was joined in the last minutes by the United States (2-2), Monday in a friendly. They will meet the American U23s on July 24 for their debut in the Olympic tournament.
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There is still work to do. 121 days before its entry into the Olympic tournament against this same opponent, the France Espoirs team conceded a frustrating draw against the United States in a friendly (2-2), Monday March 25 in Sochaux. Logically ahead in the score thanks to the achievements of Arnaud Kalimuendo from the penalty spot (26th) and Andy Diouf with a long shot (79th), the Bleuets were guilty of a fatal loss of concentration at the end of the match, conceding two goals from Griffin Yow (86th) and Cade Cowell (89th).
An extremely frustrating performance for Thierry Henry’s youngsters, already difficult winners from Ivory Coast on Friday (3-2). In a much less rhythmic game than four days ago, during which they made the difference, the U23s were finally punished for their defensive errors and physical fatigue due in particular to a lack of substitutes, with only 15 players field on the match sheet.
“We couldn’t make any changes, with too many sick people during the week. Manu Koné got injured. We knew we were going to struggle at the end of the match. We were in Olympic mode, with two close matches. The fresh players on the side American made the difference. We didn’t have that luxury.”justified the coach at the microphone of La Chaîne L’Equipe, while a virus has decimated the Bleuets group in recent days (Malo Gusto, Enzo Millot, Lenny Yoro were out, in addition to the injury to Bradley Barcola).
Cherki, Kalimuendo, Diouf and Truffert score points
However, not everything has to be thrown away. Aligned after two convincing appearances from the bench against Toulouse with OL and against the Elephants, Rayan Cherki stood out in his preferential position, at the heart of the game. Certainly less technically fair, the Lyonnais was still decisive by causing the opening penalty for an opposing handball. Enough to allow a good Arnaud Kalimuendo to make his eighth contribution in seven games under Thierry Henry (5 goals, 3 assists).
If among the newcomers of the 2001 generation, defender Bafodé Diakité, who forced his goalkeeper Guillaume Restes to shine with a superb save on an American header (6th), and captain Manu Koné, left injured at the hour of play, failed to take advantage of their tenure, Adrien Truffert was decisive. Author of a good entry, he is at the origin of the second French goal scored by Andy Diouf, rewarded after a post found in the first period (23rd). This bodes well for both men, as Thierry Henry will communicate his Olympic list of 18 names at the end of May.
There will then be three preparation matches remaining at the beginning of July to build momentum between now and July 24, the date of the reunion with the Americans in Marseille, for the French’s first match at the Games. In the meantime, both teams will probably have strengthened themselves with three players over 23 years old.