1 hour ago
3
Northern Ireland will face two-time world champions France in a friendly in the lead-up to the latter's World Cup campaign.
The game will take place on Monday, 8 June (20:10 BST) at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.
Michael O'Neill's side failed to reach the World Cup finals after losing the play-off semi-final against Italy on 26 March.
Having drawn 1-1 with fellow semi-final losers Wales in a Cardiff friendly five days later, Northern Ireland will test themselves against the world's top-ranked team.
It will be Northern Ireland's first fixture in France since their memorable Euro 2016 campaign. Northern Ireland's second June friendly has not yet been confirmed.
The sides last met in an August 1999 friendly in Belfast with France winning 1-0.
"This is exactly the level of challenge we want. France are one of the top sides in world football so it's a great test for our players," said Irish FA technical director Aaron Hughes.
English (US) ·