Mokhtari came off the bench to earn Morocco a draw

A late goal by defender Youssef Mokhtari earned Morocco a 2-2 draw with France in an entertaining friendly on Friday.

Substitute Mokhtari struck from the edge of the box with six minutes left to cap a good performance by Morocco, warming up for January's Africa Cup of Nations finals.

The hosts fell behind on eight minutes when a long-range shot by Youssouf Hadji was parried by keeper Mickael Landreau and midfielder Tarik Sektioui poked the ball home.

The World Cup runners-up hit back seven minutes later when forward Sidney Govou, set up by playmaker Samir Nasri, scored with a powerful shot.

France then took the lead on 74 minutes with an angled drive by Nasri following a headed pass from Nicolas Anelka.

France coach, Raymond Domenech praised the performance of Morocco, who were cheered on by a large contingent of fans at the Stade de France which was almost full despite a public transport strike.

"We faced opponents who played good football and caused us a lot of problems," said the coach.