Relegation-battling OGC Nice temporarily cast aside their Ligue 1 struggles (W1, D5, L5) to secure a 2-0 victory over RC Strasbourg and book their place in the Coupe de France final.
Both teams, each aiming to add a fourth Coupe de France title to their history, delivered an energetic start at the Stade de la Meinau.
The opening half was lively but lacked goals, despite several promising chances at both ends.
Nice came closest early on when Elye Wahi surged forward and created space for a shot, only to see his effort clip the outside of the post, possibly aided by a slight touch from Mike Penders.
Strasbourg responded with attacking intent, with Martial Godo posing the biggest threat.
He narrowly missed the target with a curling strike from distance and later squandered a golden opportunity after Julio Enciso’s initial shot was blocked, blazing over from close range when it seemed easier to score.
The trend of missed opportunities continued after the interval, as Enciso dragged a clear chance wide following a powerful run through on goal. That miss proved costly almost immediately.
Nice capitalised on the next opening, with Jonathan Clauss threading a perfectly weighted pass to Wahi, who showed composure to fire into the bottom corner and break the deadlock.
Strasbourg pushed forward in search of an equaliser, backed by their vocal home crowd, but were repeatedly denied by a combination of poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping.
Enciso came close again with a powerful header, only for Maxime Dupé to produce a superb reflex save.
The hosts were punished once more for their profligacy when VAR intervened late on, ruling that Ismaël Doukouré had fouled Mohamed-Ali Cho inside the box.
Wahi stepped up and confidently converted the penalty to seal the win with under 10 minutes remaining.
Strasbourg attempted to mount a late comeback but failed to find a breakthrough, as Nice held firm to reach the final, where they will face RC Lens in a bid to end their 29-year wait for the trophy.
Despite the defeat, Strasbourg can still look ahead to their UEFA Conference League semi-final clash against Rayo Vallecano as they chase silverware on another front.
