After being surprised very early by their opponents, the French, guided by a double from Jean-Philippe Mateta, offered themselves a first reassuring victory three weeks before the Olympic Games.
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A successful start to preparation. The French Olympic team led by Thierry Henry secured a large 4-1 victory against Paraguay on Thursday, July 4 in Bayonne, during its first preparation match for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A success far from obvious for the Bleuets quickly led by a team that also qualified for the Olympic football tournament, which will start on July 24.
Juan Salcedo had nevertheless dampened the French hopes on a poor clearance from Castello Lukeba, managing to nail Guillaume Restes without being really worried (0-1, 3rd). But Jean-Philippe Mateta allowed the Bleuets to come back just before the break, at the conclusion of a pass in depth from Michael Olise (1-1, 45th), before doubling the lead on penalty after the break (2-1, 51st). Coming into play at half-time, Rayan Cherki made the break on a good service from Désiré Doué (3-1, 72nd), before the Rennes pair Truffert-Kalimuendo sealed the score (4-1, 86th).
“We were tired physically, they were a very aggressive team. We conceded an early goal but we created a lot of chances in the first half and we managed to convert them in the second.”Thierry Henry told the L’Equipe channel, who was pleased to see that all his players had playing time and that none were injured.
But he issues a final warning to his people: “We lacked seriousness at the end of the match, some were looking for the little bridges, the sombreros… But I’m proud of them overall“The French Olympic team will face the Dominican Republic and then Japan in the next two preparation matches in Toulon, on July 11 and 17.
