7M - International Friendlies Preview: France vs Northern Ireland - prediction, team news, lineups

France welcome Northern Ireland to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Monday evening for their final warm-up fixture before flying out to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Les Bleus are eager to erase the memory of a surprising 2-1 defeat against Ivory Coast in their last outing, while the Green and White Army arrive in high spirits after edging past Guinea in Cadiz.

Match Preview

Having dominated European qualification Group D with five victories and one draw, two-time world champions France secured their ticket to this summer's tournament in North America with ease. Didier Deschamps's squad enters the competition occupying the top spot in the FIFA World Rankings. Armed with incredible attacking depth, they are widely tipped as favorites to lift the trophy on July 19 and redeem themselves after their painful 2022 final loss to Argentina.

Despite a heavily rotated side stumbling against Ivory Coast on Thursday, France remain in brilliant overall form, having triumphed in eight of their last 10 fixtures. Historically, Les Bleus have completely dominated this particular matchup, winning all three prior meetings against Northern Ireland before the turn of the millennium while outscoring them nine goals to one. This final match provides a critical platform to fine-tune their tactics before kicking off their World Cup campaign against Senegal.

Northern Ireland narrowly missed out on their first World Cup finals appearance since 1986 after collecting nine points in European qualification Group A. Their dreams were dashed in March's playoff rounds during a 2-0 defeat to Italy, meaning their tournament absence will stretch for at least another four years.

Nevertheless, manager Michael O'Neill has plenty of reasons to remain optimistic about the future of his squad. The Green and White Army fielded an incredibly youthful starting eleven with an average age of just 22.1 years during Thursday's victory over Guinea. Having secured promotion from the third tier of the UEFA Nations League in November 2024, the visitors will treat this high-profile clash as a valuable learning experience before resuming competitive action against Hungary, Ukraine, and Georgia this September.

Team News

France boss Didier Deschamps is expected to protect key assets following last weekend's UEFA Champions League final, which featured William Saliba alongside five Paris Saint-Germain stars. It is highly probable that these players will be rested from the opening whistle. Consequently, Ibrahima Konate, Maghnes Akliouche, and Marcus Thuram are poised to step into the starting lineup to push for a permanent role before the opening match against Senegal at MetLife Stadium.

Northern Ireland are unlikely to make sweeping changes after delivering encouraging performances against both Wales and Guinea. However, Michael O'Neill is forced into at least one modification at the back; Blackburn defender Tom Atcheson is unavailable after picking up a straight red card on Thursday evening. Trai Hume is the most likely candidate to step into the backline to fill the void.

Predicted Lineups

France possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Konate, L. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Akliouche, Cherki; Olise, Mbappe, Thuram

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:
P. Charles; McConville, Hume, Brown; Smyth, McDonnell, S. Charles, Devenny; Donley, Price; Reid

Match Prediction: France 3-0 Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland will naturally be highly motivated to showcase their defensive resilience and test their youthful talent against arguably the most formidable team on the planet. While Deschamps's side looked uncharacteristically vulnerable during their defeat to Ivory Coast, the sheer depth and elite quality running through the French ranks should see them control the tempo comfortably on home soil.