Having been without teenage sensation and red-hot striker from Brighton & Hove Albion Evan Ferguson, Republic of Ireland knew they will not be able to fare well against France and Netherlands in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers starting this weekend. The prediction of defeats has been partially realised for the Irish when 2018 FIFA World Cup champion and 2022 FIFA World Cup finalist France hosted them at Parc des Princes, with Didier Deschamps’s side emerging as the 2-0 winner at the home of French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain; Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and substitute Marcus Thuram were the scorers for Les Bleus last night.
Tchouaméni’s Stunning Strike and Thuram’s First Goal for France Sealed the Victory
Prior to last night’s match against the Republic of Ireland in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers, newly-elected France captain Kylian Mbappé led his side to capture four straight wins after their devastating loss to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the penalty shootout of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final in Qatar. The 24-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward was determined to prove his worth as the new French skipper by leading France to maintain their 100% record thus far in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers when they welcome the Irish to Paris.
The fifth round of the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers saw Didier Deschamps field his usual 4-2-3-1 formation for his French side while the Republic of Ireland, who was without wonderkid Ferguson (Fourth 18-year-old to score a Premier League hat-trick), settle for a 3-4-3 against the two-time FIFA World Cup winner at Parc des Princes. The game saw the home side ruthlessly dominated the possession with a superior margin of 69% to 31% while they also fired a whooping total of 25 shots towards the Irish goal.
Less than 20 minutes into the game, PSG’s new boy Ousmane Dembélé’s cross was repelled by the Irish defence, only to let the ball fall before the feet of Mbappé, who then set up Tchouaméni to have a go at Gavin Bazunu. The 23-year-old hit the ball first time with his right foot and found the far post with a stunner, giving a well-deserved lead to the two-time European champion in their fifth match of the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers.
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Five Wins Out of Five for France in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers
France wasted no time to widen their margin in this match and found the net again 3 minutes after the half-time break, courtesy of substitute Thuram’s effort. The 26-year-old forward, who recently signed for Italian Serie A side Inter Milan from Germain Bundesliga 1 outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach, was benefited by a dangerous attack that involved almost half of the French team.
Antoine Griezmann played a one-two with Thuram around the penalty box, before the versatile attacker from Atlético Madrid squared a pass for left-back Theo Hernández. The 25-year-old then sent a cross for his skipper Mbappé to score, but his effort was blocked by the Irish crowd in the defence, prompting the ball to ricochet towards Thuram. The Inter Milan striker, who first played for France back in 2020, could not ask for a better opportunity to score his first goal for France, which he did by turning around and hitting the ball into the top right corner.
Thuram’s strike sealed the 2-0 victory for the world no. 2 football country, who achieved a maximum 15 points in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers so far. Looking forward to the future, France will only have their next round of 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers in the following international break as they are set to be hosted by Germany for a friendly match at Signal Iduna Park next midweek.
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𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 🖐️
Les Bleus win their fifth consecutive match and strengthen their grip at the top of Group B 🔝#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/MLdEkodgEf
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) September 7, 2023
Will Mbappé Stay at Paris Saint-Germain?
France may have maintained their 100% record in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers, what stole the headlines for the global football media remains French skipper Mbappé’s future. According to reports, although the 24-year-old did not sign an extension before the deadline proposed by Paris Saint-Germain, his relationships with club personnel are gradually improving with departures of big names such as Messi and Neymar as well as arrivals of several French players namely Randal Kolo Muani and Dembélé.
These moves by PSG can certainly promote Mbappé to be the main protagonist of the team, which might convince him to stay at the French capital beyond June 2024 instead of leaving France to join his dream club Real Madrid next season.
