This Monday, the French national team will play a friendly match against Northern Ireland at 9:10 PM CET at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. Ahead of the match, Le Parisien and L’Equipe have attempted to predict the starting lineups that will be fielded by French coach Didier Deschamps and his Irish counterpart, Michael O’Neill. Five Paris Saint-Germain players, all French, will feature in the match: Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé. Two are expected to start.
France (4-2-3-1) –
Mbappé
Doué – Olise -Dembélé
Rabiot – Tchouaméni
T. Hernandez – Saliba – Upamecano – Koundé
Maignan.
Northern Ireland (3-4-2-1) –
Donley
Price – Morrison
Devenny – S. Charles – McDonnell – Smyth
Brown – McConville – Atcheson
P. Charles
These are all very likely lineups, with the French national team generally being a reliable source of media predictions. While surprises are always possible, Didier Deschamps has plenty of options with a very deep squad. In any case, with this being their final friendly before the World Cup, Les Bleus are likely to rotate their squad throughout the match to best prepare themselves.
As for Northern Ireland, the main objective is to finish the season strong and make the most of their available resources. They will probably be a rather defensive team, but one that could achieve great things playing without pressure.
