France to play Sweden in Marseille friendly

The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced a friendly with Sweden on Tuesday 18 November at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome, a UEFA EURO 2016 venue.

The Sweden game will complete a busy autumn for the French national team, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Serbia in Belgrade last Sunday in what was their opening Week of Football friendly. Les Bleus have met their Swedish counterparts 18 times previously, winning eight and losing five.

Prior to the match in Marseille, Didier Deschamps' men – who launched their season with a 1-0 home victory against Spain on 4 September – will host Portugal in Saint-Denis on 11 October, travel to Armenia three days later, then welcome Albania to Rennes on 14 November.

The visit of Sweden will be an opportunity for France midfielder Mathieu Valbuena to return to Marseille, having left OM for FC Dinamo Moskva in the summer after eight seasons. It will also take the Swedes' 50-goal all-time top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimović to the home of his Paris Saint-Germain side's arch-rivals.