France will be looking to rebound from the disappointment of losing the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina by aiming to reclaim the trophy it won four years earlier.Before that, however, Didier Deschamps’s side have a couple of warm-up friendlies, starting with a clash against Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday, June 4.While the African side has never progressed beyond the World Cup group stage, it is far from an easy opponent.Les Éléphants are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, went unbeaten through qualifying and boast arguably their strongest squad since their golden eras of the 2000s and 2010s—blending exciting young talent with established stars across the pitch.Here’s what to expect when the two sides meet.France vs. Côte d’Ivoire Score PredictionFrance Given Run for Its Money Yan Diomande is the Ivory Coast's star man. | Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesFrance and Côte d’Ivoire have met just three times in their history—2005, 2016 and 2022—with Les Bleus winning the first and most recent encounters, and the middle match ending in a draw.Expect Deschamps’s side to extend that unbeaten run, though it may not come easily.France, fresh from friendly wins over Colombia and Brazil in March, boast an almost absurd level of attacking depth, from Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé to Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and even Jean-Philippe Mateta, who offers a more physical alternative up front.Côte d’Ivoire, however, is no pushover. Its defense, featuring the likes of Ousmane Diomande, Wilfried Singo, Guéla Doué, Evan Ndicka and Odilon Kossounou, is arguably its strongest unit.At the other end, France still possess world-class quality, but do have some less experienced international defenders such as Maxence Lacroix and Malo Gusto—areas the Ivorians, with attacking talent of their own including the emerging Yan Diomande, will look to exploit.Expect a tight contest with high-quality attacking play on display, balanced by serious defensive resilience on both sides.Both sides in good form: France arrives off the back of March friendly wins over Colombia and Brazil, while Côte d’Ivoire also impressed with a 4-0 victory over South Korea and a 1-0 win against Scotland. Both teams head into this clash in strong rhythm and confidence.Mbappé chasing history: Kylian Mbappé is just one goal away from equalling France’s all-time scoring record held by Olivier Giroud (57). Expect him to start—and don’t be surprised if he is pushing hard to level or even break the record in this match.The Doué brothers: One of the more intriguing subplots could see brothers Désiré Doué and Guéla Doué come up against each other. With Guéla at right back and Désiré potentially featuring on the left wing, there is even a chance they directly face off—an unusual and compelling family duel on the international stage.Score Prediction: France 2–1 Côte d’Ivoire France Predicted Lineup vs. Côte d’IvoireHere's how France could line up against the Ivory Coast. | FotMobFrance has just one injury concern heading into the clash with Côte d’Ivoire, with William Saliba aggravating a back issue during Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last weekend and now expected to miss out, likely to be replaced by Real Madrid-bound Ibrahima Konaté.Beyond that, Deschamps has the luxury of near full strength to choose from.The main question is whether he goes with a settled strongest XI to build momentum ahead of the tournament, or rotates to give squad players valuable minutes while resting key names.Dembélé, Doué, Barcola, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Lucas Hernandez, fresh from their Champions League triumph with PSG, are likely to be rested, though could still see minutes from the bench.Mbappé, just one goal away from equalling France’s all-time scoring record, is expected to start, though maybe on the left rather un up front, alongside regulars such as Olise, Jules Koundé and goalkeeper Mike Maignan.France predicted lineup vs. Côte d’Ivoire (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Koundé, Konate, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Kanté, Tchouaméni; Olise, Cherki, Mbappé; Thuram.Côte d’Ivoire Predicted Lineup vs. FranceCôte d’Ivoire has strong options across the pitch. | FotMobFor Côte d’Ivoire, there is a similar issue at center back, with both Odilon Kossounou and Evan Ndicka—regular starters for Emerse Faé’s side—expected to miss out through injury. That should see Ousmane Diomande start, potentially alongside Emmanuel Agbadou.In midfield, Faé is likely to field a physical trio of captain Franck Kessié, Seko Fofana and Ibrahim Sangaré, tasked with breaking up France’s attacks early and imposing themselves on the more technical players in the middle of the pitch.Further forward, Yan Diomande looks almost certain to start, while Nicolas Pépé, who finished the 2025–26 season strongly with Villarreal, registering seven goal contributions (three goals and four assists) in his final six La Liga appearances to help them finish third, to add experience and creativity on the flank.Up front, young Bazoumana Touré could lead the line, completing an energetic and well-balanced XI that should pose France plenty of problems.Côte d’Ivoire predicted lineup vs. France (4-3-3): Lafont; Doué, Agbadou, Diomande, Konan; Kessié, Sangaré, Fofana; Y. Diomande, Touré, Pépé.What Time Does France vs. Côte d’Ivoire Kick Off?Location: Nantes, FranceStadium: Stade de la BeaujoireDate: Thursday, June 4Kick-off Time: 3:10 p.m. ET / 12:10 p.m. PT / 8:10 p.m. BSTHow to Watch France vs. Côte d’Ivoire on TV, Live StreamCountryTV Channel/Live StreamUnited KingdomITV (ITV 1 UK, ITV 4, ITVX, UTV), S4C SIANEL 4 CYMRU (S4C, S4C Clic, S4C Red Button), Amazon Prime VideoUnited StatesFox Soccer Plus, fuboTV, ViX, FOX OneCanadaDAZN Canada, fuboTV CanadaMexicoSky Sports Mexico, Sky+, izziREAD THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow