Colombia falls to France with less than three months left before the World Cup

(AFP) Colombia's defense crumbled on Sunday under the explosive bursts of France's usual substitutes, as the French side secured a 3-1 victory in a friendly match in the United States, looking ahead to the 2026 North America World Cup.

The team led by Argentine Néstor Lorenzo raised serious doubts at the end of the March FIFA international window, during which they also fell 2-1 to Croatia, the final window before the definitive World Cup squad list is released (June 11–July 19).

"We know who we are or what we have given, paying attention to what they say doesn't make sense. Nobody likes to lose, it's not easy, it's time to correct and improve," Colombian striker Jhon Cordoba told Gol Caracol at the end of the game.

The Colombian rearguard in Landover, Maryland, fell before the half-hour mark (29'), when a marking error by Johan Mojica and a lack of coordination between Daniel Muñoz and goalkeeper Álvaro Montero left the way clear for Desiré Doué to finish low and score his first international goal.

With Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé on the bench, Marcus Thuram (41') found his chance to score, heading home from Maghnes Akliouche's cross and another poor save from Montero.

Doué, 20, sealed his brace at Northwest Stadium after 56 minutes on a counterattack. "We played with intensity and did some good things. We have to keep it up," he stressed to the TF1 channel.

Cracked defense

The Colombian honor was at the feet of Jáminton Campaz (77'), revulsive of a team that showed tactical flaws and a low level of its referent, James Rodriguez, both against France and against Croatia on Thursday in Orlando.

The Cafeteros have conceded five goals in two games, raising alarm bells in a team that could not capitalize on the form of winger Luis Diaz.

A brawl between Colombian fans in the stands also clouded the image of Colombia, which had looked confident and battle-hardened at the start of the match.

The first half of the match, which was very physical, was diluted after the break. The second half had France as the orchestra conductor.

Campaz's goal awakened the Colombian energy, which was not enough to close the gap, and gave rise to the entry of Mbappé, the great figure of the Bleus, who on Thursday had exhibited the power of his squad in beating Brazil 2-1 at Foxborough, near Boston.

"Colombia has a very nice team, quality, aggressiveness. They lost today and to Croatia (...) but they have everything to do well at the World Cup," France coach Didier Deschamps told a news conference.