France host Northern Ireland at the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille on Monday night in an international friendly that serves as Didier Deschamps’ final match before the World Cup. Northern Ireland failed to qualify for the 48-team tournament after a 0-2 loss to Italy in the playoffs, while France enter the summer as one of the pre-tournament favourites. The sides previously met in World Cups in 1958 (France 4-0) and 1982 (France 4-1).
The match kicks off Monday, June 8, at 8:10 p.m. BST (9:10 p.m. CEST, 3:10 p.m. EDT, 5:10 a.m. AEST Tuesday). Broadcast arrangements include BBC Three and BBC Two NI in the U.K., TF1 and myCanal in France, Fox Sports 2 in the U.S. and Stan Sport in Australia. ESPN will provide live updates.
Match officials are German referee Sascha Stegemann with VAR Christian Dingert. Team news lists William Saliba as out for France. Northern Ireland will be without Dan Ballard, Paddy McNair and Conor Bradley.
Deschamps made extensive changes in France’s recent 1-2 defeat to the Ivory Coast, a result the manager will want to address before the World Cup. The coach saw a disjointed second half and further concern over Ibrahima Konaté’s form; Saliba remains sidelined. Despite high-profile attacking names on the roster, Kylian Mbappé, Rayan Cherki, Marcus Thuram, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maghnes Akliouche produced a combined 0.88 expected goals (xG). Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué did not feature because of Champions League exertions with Paris Saint-Germain.
Northern Ireland arrive having beaten Guinea 1-0 with a youthful, changed XI and playing much of the second half with 10 men. Manager Michael O’Neill has signalled a focus on building toward Euro 2028 after opting for the Northern Ireland job over Blackburn Rovers. Young players highlighted after the Guinea match included Tom Atcheson, who scored and was sent off, Arsenal teenager Ceadach O’Neill and Liverpool youngster Kieran Morrison. With senior defenders like Ballard and Bradley absent, Northern Ireland face a difficult task against world-ranked opposition.
