The Aiglons make it through at La Beaujoire (1-1, 5-3 on penalties)! After a great match and a controlled penalty shootout, they secured their place in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, putting a nice end to a good Sunday for the Red and Blacks.

All that was missing were the pros. A few hours after the women's historic qualification for the round of 16 of the Coupe de France and just after the young Aiglons' penalty shootout victory over OM in the Coupe Gambardella, Claude Puel's men put the icing on the cake for OGC Nice on Sunday 11th January. Facing a confident Nantes side fresh from their victory over Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome in the league, the Rouge et Noir showed courage and skill to book their place in the round of 16 of France's oldest competition. This was despite numerous absences and sometimes tricky circumstances such as Elye Wahi missing the opportunity to put Le Gym in the lead when his penalty was saved by Patrik Carlgren (68').

But under the torrential rain at La Beaujoire, Melvin Bard and his teammates did not give in to the storm. In the end, it was on penalties, as against PSG in 2021/2022 and against Corte in 2024/2025, that the Côte d'Azur side found salvation. While none of Nice's five penalty takers faltered, Maxime Dupé made the save he needed to make, diving perfectly at mid-height to deflect Youssef El-Arabi's attempt. Coming on as a substitute, Kevin Carlos followed in the footsteps of Melvin Bard, Jonathan Clauss, Elye Wahi - who showed great resilience after missing in normal time - and the young Everton - unflappable despite his 18 years of age - to secure qualification for his teammates.

DIOP GETS LE GYM STARTED

Before the happy ending, Aiglons and Canaris each had the opportunity to win a balanced match. Brad Mantsounga, making his professional debut in central defence alongside Juma Bah, grew in strength as the minutes passed, much like his teammates, he was freed up by Sofiane Diop. At the end of a beautiful team move initiated by Tom Louchet and set up by Jonathan Clauss' cross, the Gym's attacking midfielder scored from close range to put his team ahead shortly before the half-hour mark (0-1, 25').

Although Nantes attempted to respond through Dehmaine Tabibou, whose powerful cross-shot was perfectly saved by Max Dupé (27'), Nice largely controlled the end of the first half, taking possession of the ball and often looking dangerous on the break, without creating any other clear chances.

It was a stroke of luck that gave the Beaujoire side a boost at the start of the second half. Found on the left side of the Nantes attack, young Herba Guirassy (19) found the back of the net with a bit of luck, his curling shot being unfortunately deflected by (the excellent) Mantsounga, wrong-footing Dupé (1-1, 52'). The momentum seemed to have definitively slipped away from Les Aiglons when Wahi's penalty - awarded after a crude tackle by Junior Mwanga on Tom Louchet, who was well positioned in the box - was saved by Carlgren.

DUPÉ THE WALL

Dupé was unbeatable on his old turf and kept his team alive. First, he made an exceptional double save to prevent Bernard Nguene from scoring an own goal, then quickly got back up to deny Youssef El-Arabi from close range (76'). He then went on to block a powerful shot from El-Arabi (77') before finishing his impressive display by stopping an even more powerful attempt from Matthis Abline from a free kick (78'). This gave his team the confidence they needed to go into the penalty shoot-out, which was masterfully handled by Nice's 'keeper and his teammates before a wonderful collective celebration.

Before returning to league action in Toulouse next weekend (Saturday 17th January, 7pm), the Rouge et Noir squad will turn their attention to the draw for the round of 16, scheduled for Tuesday 13th January.