Desire Doue netted a brace as a largely rotated French side secured a 3-1 victory against Colombia in a friendly match held in the United States on Sunday. Regular captain Kylian Mbappe was limited to a late substitute role as France wrapped up a successful pre-World Cup tour in America.
This win marked France’s second triumph over South American opposition in just four days, following their 2-1 victory over Brazil earlier in the week. Reflecting on his first international goals, the 20-year-old Doue expressed pride and satisfaction, emphasizing the importance of maintaining intensity and performance ahead of the World Cup.
Coach Didier Deschamps made wholesale changes to the starting lineup for the match, which took place at the Washington Commanders’ NFL stadium in Landover, Maryland. This fixture was the final opportunity for Deschamps to assess players before announcing his World Cup squad in May. Colombia, meanwhile, fielded a similar lineup to their recent 2-1 loss against Croatia, featuring Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz and former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez.
The scoring opened on the half-hour mark when Doue’s low shot from the edge of the box was inadvertently deflected into the net by Crystal Palace defender Daniel Munoz. Just before halftime, Inter Milan forward Marcus Thuram extended France’s lead with a header from a cross delivered by Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche.
Early in the second half, Thuram assisted Doue for his second goal of the match on 56 minutes. Colombia responded shortly after when Jaminton Campaz struck a shot that deflected off the post and into the goal, narrowing the deficit. Mbappe entered the game soon after this goal, having been rested due to a recent knee injury that sidelined him for three weeks.
Mbappe, who scored in the win over Brazil to move within one goal of France’s all-time scoring record, remains on 56 goals after making his 96th appearance. He is now just one goal shy of equaling the record of 57 goals held by the recently retired Olivier Giroud.
