Ole Miss hat-trick leads France to defeat Northern Ireland ahead of 2026 World Cup
France have regained their morale ahead of their trip to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday, after beating Northern Ireland 3-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Mikael Ulyssé in a pre-finals friendly on Monday in the northern city of Villeneuve-Dask.
This clash was Didier Deschamps' last appearance on French soil with the team that led him to the 2018 World Cup title in Russia and runners-up at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as he chose to start the match with his ideal squad for the opening of the World Cup campaign eight days later against Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New York.
Ousmane Dembele returned from a surprise 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast last Thursday in Nantes to give him a rest after playing in the Champions League final and winning the title for the second time in a row with Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal's defender William Saliba returned after recovering from a back injury, to take the lead at the expense of Ibrahima Konate.
Throughout the first half, the Roosters dominated the proceedings, as their captain Kylian Mbappe denied Olivier Giroud the equalizer for the top scorers (57 goals) due to offside in the 21st minute, before Mikael Ulysses sealed the game in the 43rd minute when he took advantage of a ball that fell in front of him following an unsuccessful shot from Dembele to seal the opening goal in the 43rd minute.
The start of the second half saw Ulisée sign again, as he widened the gap with a powerful left-footed shot from inside the box after the ball bounced back to him after an imperfect header from teammate Theo Hernandez in the 49th minute.
With a series of substitutions including Dembélé, Theo Hernandez, Désiré Doé and Jules Kounde, Northern Ireland took advantage of the change to get back into the game, reducing the deficit when substitute Ryan Sharqi lost the ball to Shai Charles, who passed it to Patrick Kelly, who found the back of the net in the 64th minute.
Despite the Irish goal, Ulisse regained the initiative again to complete his hat-trick in the 74th minute, when he started from the right and penetrated deep before firing a left-footed shot from about 20 metres that settled into the goal with the help of the post.
Two penalties give Netherlands an unconvincing win over Uzbekistan in a friendly
Dutch striker Cody Khakpo scored two penalties, one of them from the last kick of the match, to lead his country to a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan in a friendly match in preparation for the FIFA World Cup on Monday without fans at the Icahn Stadium.
Khakpo opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 31st minute, then scored a second penalty two minutes after Uzbekistan's equaliser in stoppage time, giving the Netherlands an unconvincing victory.
However, the match was marred by some refereeing errors, as the referee rejected two other requests for penalties for the Netherlands even though they seemed legitimate, and substitute Jos Till was sent off in the 89th minute with a red card for an ineffective hand touch outside the box.
The Netherlands' first goal came after a dangerous tackle from Jakhonger Orozov against Cresencio Somerville, and when Khakpo scored, it looked like the Netherlands would get an easy win given their control of the game.
But the performance was mediocre in the second half, allowing Uzbekistan to level the score in the third minute of stoppage time through Igor Sergeyev in one of the rare attacks for the World Cup debut.
As the game appeared to be heading towards a draw, Jean-Paul van Heck was fouled by Uzbekistan's defenders and knocked down from a corner, and the referee awarded the Netherlands another penalty that allowed them to win the game.
The Dutch national team heads to its home in Kansas City on Tuesday and will play its opening match in Group F against Japan in Dallas next Sunday.
Uzbekistan, who are participating in the World Cup for the first time, are in Group 11 and will play their opening match against Colombia in Mexico City on Thursday 18 June.
Netherlands coach criticizes performance of his players
Dutch coach Ronald Koeman expressed his displeasure with his players' performance, saying after the game: "I'm very concerned about the team's ability to finish the attacks, especially in situations involving Somerville and Malin."
" It's not a big deal, we have the ability to score, but we haven't been able to do that yet. But the problem is that we need to change quickly. The players have to make the best use of their chances in the coming games."
The win over Uzbekistan ended the Netherlands' two-match streak of draws and losses. However, the 2-1 result, in which both goals were scored from two penalty kicks, was not enough to reassure the fans, as since they officially qualified for the finals, the Dutch national team has shown signs of declining in their form, and in their previous nine matches, they have won seven and drawn two, while in their last three matches, they have won one, drawn one and lost one.