Francevs.Chile

That was a first home defeat in almost two years for the French, as Chile will look to spring another surprise after a fine result of their own over the weekend.

Match preview

Saturday's 2-0 defeat in Lyon was more surprising for the fact France were extremely flat throughout, after going behind to Florian Wirtz's wonder goal inside seven seconds.

Les Bleus never really reacted to that early blow, with Kai Havertz netting again in the second half as Germany beat France for the second time in six months.

It was the first time they have failed to win a home game since a UEFA Nations League defeat to Croatia in 2022, so getting back on track here will be the main objective.

Didier Deschamps's men remain favourites for Euro 2024, and for good reason, but Saturday's outing shows that nothing is a given in international football.

After cruising to qualification with 22 points from a possible 24, an improvement on their quarter-final elimination at Euro 2020 is an absolute must, but anything but a win here may see some become a little more reserved about France's prospects.

Chile will represent a good challenge for the French too, in a first meeting between the nations since a 1-1 draw in 2011.

The two also met at the very first World Cup back in 1930, but Chile are facing the very real prospect of missing out on a third straight finals after a worrying start to qualifying.

Eduardo Berizzo was sacked after taking just five points from their opening five qualifiers, as they also went on to lose in Ecuador under caretaker Nicolas Cordova.

Fellow Argentine Ricardo Gareca has come in, and he got off to the perfect start on Friday, as Chile thumped in-form Albania 3-0.

That tally of goals matched the number they have managed across their six World Cup qualifiers so far, as it was a positive first step to putting things right after a woeful 2023.

Another fine showing here should provide more confidence ahead of the Copa America in the summer, a competition where Chile have enjoyed remarkable success in the past decade.

France friendly form:

L

France form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

D

L

Chile friendly form:

W

Chile form (all competitions):

D

W

L

D

L

W

Team News

Antoine Griezmann was a late casualty from the squad after the Atletico Madrid forward picked up a recurrence of a previous injury, ending his incredible 84-game streak in the France side.

Kingsley Coman and Boubacar Kamara are also absent from the squad with injury, while Khephren Thuram has dropped down to the Under-21s.

There is likely going to be many changes to the France team, as Deschamps experimented with the side against Germany, but Kylian Mbappe may be one of the few players to keep his place.

William Saliba, Olivier Giroud and Theo Hernandez are all possible candidates to come in, in what remains an incredibly stacked France squad.

Alexis Sanchez will become the all-time record cap holder for the Chile national team if he appears in this encounter, taking him onto 162, above Gary Medel, whose record he matched on Friday.

At 34, Eduardo Vargas is still going strong in the Chile side, despite limited game time at Atletico Mineiro, and fellow forward Victor Davila had a fine game against Albania.

That could see Ben Brereton Diaz remain on the bench here, with Davila starting on the left and Dario Osorio completing the front four.

Erick Pulgar, Diego Valdes and Guillermo Maripan are among the long list of late withdrawals for Chile though, as Gareca is working with a greatly reduced squad this week.

France possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Clauss, Saliba, Konate, T Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Kolo Muani, Giroud, Mbappe

Chile possible starting lineup:

Bravo; Isla, Diaz, Lichnovsky, Suazo; Echeverria, Nunez; Osorio, Alexis, Davila; Vargas

We say: France 3-1 Chile

France will be fully expectant of a win to make up for Saturday's defeat, even though Chile appear to be a side improving under new management.

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