United star’s heroic strike shoots down World Cup favourites in historic victory

Manchester United have had numerous players on international duty this week. They had one last night as Amad came off the bench for the Ivory Coast versus France. Irregular season Amad burst into life in the 2024/2025 season but struggled to have the same impact this year. He started the season as a wingback in Ruben Amorim’s system but moved to a winger in Michael Carrick’s formation. Amad started the season quite well, but his form noticeably dipped after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. Ivory Coast The Ivorian did finish the season in better form and grabbed an assist versus Brighton & Hove Albion on the last day of the campaign. He was subsequently called up for his nation’s World Cup squad and started on the bench for Ivory Coast in their 2-1 friendly win over France. Amad played 45 minutes and grabbed a late goal to win the match for Les Éléphants. He swept the ball home from a first-time cross with his right foot to secure a late lead for the African side. It was his only shot on goal in the match, and he also completed one out of three dribble attempts. Amad did not complete any key passes or crosses in the match but did look after the ball, making 88% of his passes. The 23-year-old did help out defensively, though, winning four duels and recovering the ball the same number of times. It was his sixth goal for his nation, and Ivory Coast will next be in action against Ecuador in the World Cup on 14th June. They will also face Germany and Curaçao in their group. What a moment for Ivory Coast 🇨🇮 Les Éléphants defeat France for the first time ever pic.twitter.com/ZLLK27zkT7 — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 4, 2026 Amad stats versus France StatValue Goals1 Assists0 Total shots1 Shots on target1 Shots blocked0 Touches28 Unsuccessful touches1 Dribbles (successful)3 (1) Was fouled2 Possession lost9 Total carrying distance65.8 m Carries8 Progressive carries2 Total progression45.1 m Progressive carrying distance28.9 m Longest progressive carry15.9 m Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes14/16 (88%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)6/7 (86%) Passes in own half (acc.)8/9 (89%) Def. contributions1 Tackles (won)1 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries4 Ground duels (won)10 (4) Aerial duels (won)1 (0) Dribbled past1 Featured image George Wood via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Latest Top Stories… Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.