France Secures Victory Over Colombia as Doué and Thuram Shine in American Tour Finale

France defeated Colombia 3-0 in a friendly match on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, with Les Bleus building a 2-0 halftime lead through goals from Désiré Doué and Marcus Thuram. The result closed France's American tour ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with manager Didier Deschamps rotating his squad and giving opportunities to players on the fringes of his starting eleven. Both first-half goals bore the fingerprints of Colombian defender Daniel Muñoz of Crystal Palace, who deflected Doué's shot into his own net and was beaten in the air by Thuram for the second. Doué added a second goal in the 56th minute to complete the scoring.

Doué marks his sixth cap with a landmark first goal Désiré Doué, the 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward, opened the scoring after half an hour of play, converting his first goal for the French senior national team on his sixth international appearance. Deployed on the left wing of France's attacking quartet, Doué met a loose ball at the edge of the box and struck it first time with his right foot. The shot deflected off Muñoz and beat Colombian goalkeeper Montero. According to Ouest France, this was also the first time Doué had been directly involved in a goal for the national team across all six of his caps. Deschamps had preferred Hugo Ekitike to Doué in the previous match against Brazil, making the goal a timely statement from the PSG winger with the World Cup squad selection approaching. The 2026 World Cup begins in June, leaving players roughly two and a half months to press their claims for a place in the final list.

Thuram's header puts him ahead of his legendary father Marcus Thuram extended France's lead to 2-0 in the 41st minute with a powerful header, his third goal in the tricolor shirt, surpassing the career international goal tally of his father Lilian Thuram. Maghnes Akliouche, the Monaco attacking midfielder, delivered a sublime left-footed cross that Marcus Thuram met ahead of Muñoz, directing a firm header under Montero's crossbar. Lilian Thuram had scored two goals across 142 caps for France, a record that his son now stands above with three. The assist from Akliouche highlighted another fringe player making a case for inclusion in Deschamps's World Cup plans. Muñoz, who had already been unfortunate with the deflection for the first goal, was again the Colombian defender caught at the center of France's attacking moves.

Lilian Thuram is one of the most decorated defenders in French football history, having earned 142 caps for the national team — a record at the time of his retirement. He scored two goals for France across that career, making his son Marcus's third international goal a milestone that places the younger Thuram ahead of his father in that particular statistic. France's American tour was organized as preparation for the 2026 World Cup, with the team facing two opponents in the United States. France had defeated Brazil 2-1 in the first match of the tour on March 26, 2026, before facing Colombia on March 29.

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Deschamps's rotation policy pays dividends before June selection Deschamps made deliberate use of his squad depth for the Colombia match, fielding a revamped lineup compared to the Brazil game and giving playing time to players competing for spots in the final World Cup roster. The rotation policy produced immediate results, with Doué and Thuram both delivering goals in the first half and Doué adding a second in the 56th minute to seal a comfortable 3-0 victory. Akliouche, who plays his club football for Monaco in Ligue 1, contributed a key assist, further demonstrating the depth available to the France manager. Colombia, whose possession stood at 39 percent compared to France's 61 percent according to match data, struggled to contain the French attack throughout. The result gave France a clean sweep of their American tour, with six points from two friendly matches and a combined score of 5-1 against Brazil and Colombia.

142 (caps) — Lilian Thuram's career total for France national team

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