Already beaten in the opening Monday on the same score by South Korea, the young French have again displayed defensive shortcomings, this time against the semifinalists of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Last in Group F before the match between South Korea and Honduras in the evening, the Blueberries are close to the exit before their last match against the Hondurans on Sunday. The Gambians are already qualified for the knockout stages.
Coach Landry Chauvin had made three changes from the inaugural match with the start of three Monegasques: midfielder Soungoutou Magassa, striker Malamine Efekele and goalkeeper Yann Liénard.
But a very bad recovery in the axis of the latter led to the opening of the opposing score. The Gambians recovered the ball after this blunder of the French goalkeeper who then repelled the strike of Adama Bojang, but to make matters worse, it was diverted into his own court by Tanguy Zoukrou (13th).
The AS Monaco goalkeeper, however, made up for it by diverting a penalty from Alagie Saine in the 57th minute. In the aftermath, Wilson Odobert equalized from the head to the second post (61st).
A short-lived joy for the French. Mamin Sanyang, who entered at the end of the first half, took Jordan Semedo in the box to deceive Liénard with a powerful strike (68th) and give the Gambians the advantage.
The France's only success in the U20 World Cup dates back to 2013, when Paul Pogba's gang defeated Uruguay on penalties.
© 2023 AFP