France faced Northern Ireland at the Decathlon Arena in Lille on Friday night in Didier Deschamps' final home match in charge, a game that carried extra weight because it was also France's last outing before the World Cup. The night began with home supporters singing Deschamps' name in the seventh minute, a reminder of how much the France boss still means to a team he has taken to the top of the game.
That is why people were asking are northern ireland in the world cup while the match was still unfolding. Northern Ireland were up against one of the tournament favourites, yet they almost scored first through Patrick Kelly, who was one first-time effort away from his first international goal when Isaac Price clipped a ball into him on the right-hand side of the box and his shot went just wide of the far post with Mike Maignan beaten.
The chance mattered because it cut through a spell that had already shown how dangerous France can be even when they are not at full pace. Michael Olise slipped in Kylian Mbappe, whose strike was straight at Pierce Charles before the flag went up, while Desire Doue almost punished a loose pass from Trai Hume before his tame effort was saved easily by Charles. Trai Hume and Ciaron Brown also had to make clearances from two Doue crosses, and Aurelien Tchouameni headed away a free-kick Hume had won around the halfway line. After that frantic burst, Northern Ireland settled the game down.
Deschamps' final home match in charge is notable because it sits between two bigger truths at once: France are heading to the World Cup with the depth of a side that can field what Andy Gray described as two squads of 11 players capable of winning it, while Northern Ireland are measuring themselves against that level just before the tournament begins. Gray also said Spain and France will be the favourites, with Portugal and Norway as dark horses, and that balance explains why a near miss from Kelly still felt meaningful in Lille. What remains unresolved is the scoreline and the final shape of the result, but the evening already told the story of a France side on the edge of a new campaign and a Northern Ireland player who came within inches of making his first international goal the moment everyone remembered.
