International Friendly: Northern Ireland To Face France In June

Northern Ireland will face two-time world champions France in a friendly in the lead-up to the latter’s World Cup campaign.

The game will take place on Monday, 8 June, at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.

Michael O’Neill’s side failed to reach the World Cup finals after losing the play-off semi-final against Italy on 26 March.

Having drawn 1-1 with fellow semi-final losers Wales in a Cardiff friendly five days later, Northern Ireland will test themselves against the world’s top-ranked team.

It will be Northern Ireland’s first fixture in France since their memorable Euro 2016 campaign. Northern Ireland’s second June friendly has not yet been confirmed.

The sides last met in an August 1999 friendly in Belfast with France winning 1-0.

“This is exactly the level of challenge we want. France are one of the top sides in world football so it’s a great test for our players,” said Irish FA technical director Aaron Hughes.

France, World Cup winners in 1998 and 2018, are aiming to extinguish the pain of losing to Argentina in a shootout in the final four years ago.

Les Bleus, face Senegal in the Group I opener in New Jersey on 16 June before games against Iraq in Philadelphia and Norway in Massachusetts on 22 and 26 June.

France breezed through qualification with five wins and a draw in matches against Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan before beating Brazil and Colombia in March friendlies.

However, France boss Didier Deschamps – who will bring the curtain down on his 14-year reign after this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be without Hugo Ekitike after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in Liverpool’s Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain earlier this week.