History could be in the making on Wednesday night when fourth-tier AS Cannes welcome Reims to the Stade Pierre-de-Coubertin in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.
Cannes have the opportunity to become just the second fourth-tier side to reach the final of the competition, after Calais in 2000, where Paris Saint-Germain are set to be waiting, if they can beat Dunkerque 24 hours earlier.
Match preview
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Owned by the Friedkin Group, who also oversee Roma and Everton, Cannes have the opportunity to eclipse any achievement of those two historic clubs this season when they take to the field against top-flight opposition this midweek.
Often in the shadows of their bigger city rivals Stade Malherbe Caen, who have bounced between the top two divisions in recent years, Cannes will now have the opportunity to make the headlines if they can achieve the unthinkable.
It has been nearly 30 years since Cannes were a brief top-flight club, and it is just as long since a fourth-tier side last reached the final of the Coupe de France, when Calais were beaten by Nantes in 1999-00.
Cannes do have history in the competition though, having won it all the way back in 1932, and that success remains the club’s sole major honour.
They should enter the clash confident of being able to pull off a shock too, because a sensational run of form over the past few months has moved them to within eight points of the solitary promotion spot in Group A of National 2.
Damien Ott‘s men were not in action at the weekend, and have lost their last two matches, but they came after a remarkable streak that saw them go unbeaten for 19 games.
That run encompassed their entire run to the semi-finals, with Cannes needing to come through six rounds to get this far, with their notable results seeing them beat Grenoble, Ligue 2 promotion favourites Lorient, and Guingamp in the quarter-finals.
This will be their first taste of top-flight opposition, but just 15 years ago, these two clubs shared the same division, facing off in the third tier, drawing both games that season 0-0.
Both matches also ended goalless when they were in the third division together in 2001-02, but when Reims travelled here in the 2003-04 season, they were beaten by the odd goal in a seven-goal thriller.
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Many neutrals in France may have been getting excited about a potential shock in this one when looking at Reims’ recent form, but Samba Diawara earned his first league win in charge at the weekend, stunning Marseille to win 3-1.
Reims had plummeted down the Ligue 1 standing after a 15-game winless streak in Ligue 1, but they arrested that run just one game shy of equalling the all-time club record with a surprise win at the weekend, which sets them up perfectly for this semi-final.
It is in the Coupe de France where all of Reims’ recent wins had come, because before the weekend’s success, their previous four victories had all been in the cup, albeit, three of them being on penalties.
They were only able to edge past amateur side Bourgoin Jallieu on spot kicks, but beating Monaco and Angers via the same route was much more impressive, as the visitors are seeking a first Coupe success since 1958, back in the days when they reached back-to-back European Cup finals.
Reims’ last piece of silverware was the French title during the club’s golden era in 1962, but they have won nothing since, and they will never give themselves a better opportunity than this one to end that long wait.
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Team News
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Cannes will be without Hamza Hafidi through injury, but they will have Gregoire Pineau available after he missed the quarter-final win due to suspension, even if he is only likely to start on the bench.
Former Birmingham City midfielder Cheikh Ndoye is the captain of the side at 39, and he should play a big role, but all eyes will be on attacker Julien Domingues, who is the club’s clear top scorer in the league with 11 goals, but also has 10 in the Coupe, four more than any other player.
Reims have gone strong in this competition under both Luka Elsner and now Diawara, and this should be no exception, with much of the side that beat Marseille expected to start again.
Many of their injury absences are in attack, with Jordan Siebatcheu, Mohamed Daramy and Reda Khadra out, but in Keito Nakamura and Junya Ito, Reims have two Japanese internationals who were excellent against Marseille.
Yaya Fofana, Gabriel Moscardo and Nhoa Sangui are also currently sidelined for the visitors, but there was no injury involved in Teddy Teuma‘s absence at the weekend, with the Maltese international dropping to bench for tactical reasons.
AS Cannes possible starting lineup:
Vanni; Vinci, Smith, Abderrahmane, Fischer; C Goncalves, Ndoye, N’Diaye; Abbas, Domingues, Mambu
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Aurelio Buta, Okumu, Kipre, Akieme; Gbane, Atangana, Am Kone; Ito, Nakamura, Diakhon
We say: AS Cannes 1-2 Reims
Cannes have made life difficult for a few Ligue 2 teams in this competition, and Reims’ level is not that much higher, so there is a good chance of this being an extremely competitive cup tie.
With three divisions between the sides though, Reims will be the big favourites, and with established internationals in their ranks, the visitors should have enough to get over the line and reach the showpiece occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
