France qualified for the Under-17 World Cup final in Indonesia on Tuesday after a 2-1 win against a spirited Mali side.
They will strive to secure their second championship, following their sole victory in 2001, when they go up against Germany in the tournament finale on Saturday in the Javan city of Surakarta.
Germany clinched their spot in the final by defeating Argentina 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
However, France had to mount a comeback from a goal down after Mali took the lead in first-half injury time, courtesy of captain Ibrahim Diarra. It marked the first goal conceded in the tournament by the young players under the guidance of coach Jean-Luc Vannuchi.
They equalized in the 56th minute with a header from Yvann Titi of Troyes before he was substituted out shortly after due to injury.
This occurred shortly after Mali was reduced to 10 men when Souleymane Sanogo was given a red card for a foul on defender Aymen Sadi.
Taking advantage of Mali being a man down, Ismail Bouneb from Valenciennes scored the decisive goal with a free-kick in the 69th minute. Bouneb had previously propelled France into the semi-finals by scoring the winning goal against Uzbekistan in their quarter-final match.
The victory was secured for France by goalkeeper Paul Argney of Le Havre, who deflected a free-kick onto the bar in the 89th minute.
Germany have never won the Under-17 World Cup but beat France in the European Championship final in June on penalties after a 0-0 draw.