The high-profile friendly between France and the Ivory Coast kicks off on Thursday, June 4 at 9:10 p.m. (Paris time) at Nantes’ Stade de la Beaujoire — the first warm-up before the 2026 World Cup, shown live and free-to-air on TF1.
With kickoff just a week before they fly to North America, Emerse Faé’s Elephants arrive in Nantes for a prestige tune-up. Qualified for the 2026 World Cup (June 11 – July 19, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico), the Ivory Coast — ranked 35th by FIFA — want to use the fixture to sharpen their understanding and trouble a footballing heavyweight. Across from them stands a confident France side: according to the French Football Federation, Didier Deschamps’ men beat Brazil (2-1) and Colombia (3-1) on their March tour, stretching their unbeaten run to nine games.
History, however, favours the hosts. In their last meeting, in March 2022, France won 2-1 through Olivier Giroud and Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Les Bleus remain unbeaten at La Beaujoire. For the Elephants, though, the stakes run deeper than the scoreline: this real-world test — the very first of Ivory Coast’s preparations — lets Faé assess his squad before a World Cup in which they face Germany on June 20 in Toronto. Kickoff is at 9:10 p.m. CEST, with TF1 carrying the broadcast in France.