France recorded their sixth straight victory on Friday by beating Ivory Coast 2-1, with Aurelien Tchouameni coming up with the winning goal in second-half stoppage time after Olivier Giroud had cancelled out a 19th-minute opener from Nicolas Pepe in Marseille.
Deschamps’s side will round off their international break with a friendly against South Africa before turning their attention to the UEFA Nations League, which begins at home to Denmark on June 3.
The Blues will also be thinking about the 2022 World Cup, where they are expected to make a serious impression; the national team picked up 18 points from their eight matches to comfortably finish top of Group D, breezing through their qualification process.
France are the reigning world champions, having lifted the trophy for the second time back in 2018, but they disappointed at Euro 2020, losing to Switzerland in the round of 16, and it would be fair to say that their overall performance at the competition was below the expected standard.
Deschamps’s team have actually not lost a single match since the defeat to Switzerland at Euro 2020, while they have been victorious in their last three friendlies against Wales, Bulgaria and Ivory Coast.
South Africa, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a goalless draw with Guinea on Friday, which proved to be their first match since losing to Ghana last November.
Hugo Broos’s side have played in three World Cups, competing in the finals in 1998, 2002 and 2010, but they have not been present in the last two competitions and will also not feature at the 2022 tournament.
Indeed, South Africa finished second behind Ghana in their qualification section despite picking up 13 points from six matches, with their defeat against Ghana on November 14 proving to be decisive.
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As a result, the national team will have to wait until at least 2026 to play in another World Cup, but they would certainly send out a message by beating the reigning world champions in this match.
South Africa have only been victorious in one of their last four friendly matches, which came at home to Uganda last June, but they beat France 2-1 when the two sides last locked horns at the 2010 World Cup.
