Here is a look at the newspaper player ratings for France vs Northern Ireland– Les Bleus’ final World Cup warm-up friendly before the mega tournament in the United States. The FRA NIR game took place in Lille in front of a crowd of 43,272.
France 3 (Michael Olise*3)
Northern Ireland 1 (Patrick Kelly)
L’Equipe player ratings France vs Northern Ireland 2026
Michael Olise aside, L’Equipe thought the rest of the French team had a pretty average evening, and it’s reflected in their starting team rating (5.6/10). Arsenal’s Saliba got a 6 while Chelsea’s Gusto, a replacement for Kounde, got a 5. Ousmane Dembele was given a 4/10 rating here- Dembele’s PSG team won the CL against Arsenal last month.
Ouest France newspaper player ratings France 3-1 NI
The paper thought Gusto (5) was better than the person he replaced (Kounde) on the evening and also thought Arsenal’s Saliba (6) fared better than central defensive partner Upamecano (5). The Gunners CB was thought to the best defender on the evening for Les Bleus (see full ratings below)
Full Ouest France ratings FRA 3-1 NI (all out of 10)
Maignan 5
Koune 5
Upamecano 5
Saliba 6
Theo Hernandez 4
Tchouameni 7
Rabiot 5
Dembele 4
Olise 9
Doue 6
Mbappe 3
Subs: Gusto (5), Lacroix (4); others weren’t on for a long enough period according to the paper to be rated.