France suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast while Spain were held to a 1-1 draw by Iraq in their final round of World Cup warm-up matches on Thursday.

At Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, Ivory Coast produced a spirited comeback to stun one of the tournament favourites.

After France took the lead through Rayan Cherki just before halftime, the Elephants responded strongly in the second half.

Guéla Doué, whose brother Désiré Doué is part of the French squad, equalised shortly after the break before turning provider for the winning goal.

His low cross in the 84th minute was expertly finished by Manchester United winger Amad Diallo, sealing a memorable victory for the African side.

France created several chances throughout the contest, with goalkeeper Yahia Fofana producing key saves to deny Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise and Cherki. The defeat serves as an unexpected setback for Didier Deschamps' side ahead of their World Cup opener against Senegal on June 16.

The match also carried an emotional backdrop, with supporters paying tribute to Deschamps, whose successful tenure as France coach is set to end after the tournament.

Under his leadership, France won the 2018 World Cup and reached the 2022 final.

Spain stumble, visa issues linger for Iran

Meanwhile, in A Coruña, European champions Spain were surprisingly held by Iraq. Ferran Torres, captaining a heavily rotated Spanish side, opened the scoring in the 16th minute.

However, Iraq hit back through a cross from German-born full-back Merchas Doski that caught goalkeeper Joan Garcia off guard and found its way into the net.

Spain dominated possession and struck the crossbar through Torres before halftime, but Luis de la Fuente's experimental lineup, which featured seven debutants not included in the World Cup squad, could not find a winner.

Elsewhere, Iran completed their preparations with a 2-0 victory over Mali in Turkey.

The team is set to travel to its World Cup base in Mexico after finally receiving entry visas this week, although US visas for the squad remain pending despite all three group-stage matches being scheduled in the United States.

There was better news for Switzerland, with striker Breel Embolo receiving approval for his US visa after an earlier delay. The forward is now expected to join his teammates ahead of the tournament.

As the countdown to the World Cup continues, France and Spain will be looking to quickly address concerns raised by two unexpected results, while Ivory Coast and Iraq head into the competition boosted by confidence-building performances.