France survive Ireland scare, Netherlands ease past Gibraltar
France held on to beat Ireland 1-0 in Dublin on Monday to win their second Euro 2024 qualifier, while the Netherlands eased past Gibraltar 3-0.
France held on to beat Ireland 1-0 in Dublin on Monday to win their second Euro 2024 qualifier, while the Netherlands eased past Gibraltar 3-0.
Kylian Mbappe marked his first game as France captain with a brace in a 4-0 demolition of the Netherlands in Euro 2024 qualifying on Friday, while Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Belgium began a new era with a 3-0 victory in Sweden.
Three months on from their agonising defeat in the World Cup final in Doha, France begin a new era with several veterans having retired and Kylian Mbappe handed the captain’s armband for their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Karim Benzema has responded to Didier Deschamps’ claim that the striker told him “he wouldn’t have been ready” to play at the World Cup because of an injury by implying the France coach was a “liar”.
France centre-back Raphael Varane, a World Cup winner in 2018 and runner-up last year, announced Thursday his retirement from international duty at the age of 29.
Didier Deschamps said he would wait before deciding whether to remain as coach of France in the wake of their World Cup final defeat, but the future prospects remain bright for a side brimming with young talent and led by Kylian Mbappe.
Argentina fought off a resilient French outfit to win the FIFA World Cup for a third time.
France and Argentina will square off in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday. The two teams last met in a goal fest in the Round of 16 in 2018.
Didier Deschamps said Saturday that France were taking “as many precautions as possible” to stop the spread of a virus that is threatening their preparations for their World Cup final showdown with Argentina.
France’s 2-0 semi-final victory over Morocco will see Les Bleus make their fourth FIFA World Cup Final.