The PSG star was the difference for France.
Desire Doue opened his senior international account with a brace as France cruised to a 3-1 win over Colombia in Maryland.
Didier Deschamps changed the entire France starting XI after seeing his side beat Brazil 2-1 on Thursday, yet his side were still comfortable in front of a crowd packed with Colombia fans.
Doue’s first France goal broke the deadlock in the 29th minute, and 12 minutes later Marcus Thuram gave them complete control at Northwest Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Colombia rarely looked like mounting a recovery, with Doue capping a fine France move early in the second half to effectively end the game as a contest, the only blot on the afternoon for Deschamps and his players a consolation for Colombia through Jaminton Campaz.
The South Americans threatened to further reduce the deficit in a frantic finish, but France preserved a routine win that underlined their strength in depth and their credentials as one of the leading contenders to win the 2026 World Cup in North America this summer.
Doue off the mark as France cruise past Colombia
Colombia made an energetic start to proceedings, but paid the price for failing to seriously test France goalkeeper Brice Samba as Les Bleus scored with their first two shots on target.
Doue opened the scoring as he beat Alvaro Montero from the edge of the area with the help of a deflection after a Thuram lay-off was flicked into his path.
Maghnes Akliouche started the move that led to the opener, and it was his superb left-footed cross that set up France’s second as Thuram headed home his brilliant delivery from close range.
Colombia responded well and Daniel Munoz fired wide after a neat move, but they continued to struggle defensively, with Doue forcing Montero to tip over the crossbar shortly before half-time.
But Doue had his second 11 minutes into the second half, his close-range effort proving too strong for Montero after Akliouche and Cherki combined to free Thuram down the right, the Inter Milan forward making no mistake in laying the ball on a plate for the 20-year-old.
Campaz gave the hoardes of Colombia fans something to celebrate when he angled an effort in off the post after being teed up by Jefferson Lerma 13 minutes from the end of normal time.
That gave Colombia belief of a remarkable comeback, though France remained a substantial threat on the break, with Kylian Mbappe illustrating that as he saw an effort cleared off the line after fellow substitutes Michael Olise and Hugo Ekitike had split open the Colombia defence.
Olise’s stunning throughball put Ekitike in on the goal, with Mbappe denied after the Liverpool forward had failed to round Montero.
Mbappe and Ekitike each spurned further opportunities in stoppage time, with the former then seeing what would have been a record-tying 57th goal for France ruled out for offside.
That piece of history may well come at the World Cup for the Real Madrid star, but this was a day that belonged to Doue.
