Madrid: World Cup hopefuls France salvaged a late 1-1 draw against the United States in their final friendly before the tournament, while fellow title favourites Spain also needed a late goal as they edged past Tunisia 1-0.
Elsewhere, there were wins for finalists Serbia, Denmark, Morocco and Australia, while Sweden were held to a goalless draw by Peru.
Didier Deschamps named a strong side as he sought to put the finishing touches to his preparations before travelling to Russia. However, Julian Green took advantage of a Djibril Sidibe slip to fire a near post effort past Hugo Lloris on the stroke of halftime to give the visitors a shock lead.
US, who did not qualify for Russia, looked as if they would hold onto their advantage until Kylian Mbappe spared Deschamps’s blushes 12 minutes from time.
There remains plenty of unanswered questions for Les Bleus heading into next weekend’s opener against Australia, who beat Hungary 2-1 earlier on Saturday.
Elsewhere, fellow Group C members Denmark recorded a 2-0 win over fellow finalists Mexico thanks to strikes from Yussuf Poulsen and Christian Eriksen, while Peru played out a stalemate with Sweden, who will also be in Russia.
Mexico were unconvincing in the first half on Saturday and posed little danger on attack, while only a strong performance by goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa kept Denmark off the board for the first 45 minutes. They appeared to get a lift from several substitutions at the start of the second half and at the 60-minute mark and began taking more possession of the ball.
Even so, Denmark continued to monopolise the scoring chances.
Finally, the home side opened the scoring in the 71st minute when striker Yussuf Poulsen skilfully manoeuvred around a pair of defenders and got off a curling left-footed strike that gave Ochoa no chance.
On the second goal, the Mexicans were caught napping on a throw-in and allowed midfielder Christian Eriksen to score in a one-on-one opportunity against Mexico’s net minder in the 74th minute.
It appeared as if it would be as equally a frustrating night for 2010 champions Spain as they struggled to break down a Tunisia side, who caused them difficulties on the counterattack.
Former Liverpool forward Iago Aspas swept in after good work from Diego Costa six minutes from the end to secure the win and ensure coach Julen Lopetegui remains undefeated in his first 20 games in charge.
Their Group B rivals Morocco resoundingly brushed past Estonia 3-1, while Serbia hammered Bolivia 5-1. Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic hit a hat-trick and former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic netted a stunning volley in the rout.
