With a 2-0 victory against Ireland on Thursday, France’s unbeaten start to its European Championship qualification campaign reached five games.
For the two-time winner, a ticket at the continental competition in Germany next summer seemed all but certain.
With 15 points and a nine-point advantage over the Netherlands and Greece, Didier Deschamps’ squad is unbeatable thus far and has not let up a goal. The Dutch have two games remaining after defeating their Greek counterparts by a score of 3-0.
At Parc des Princes, France’s goals were scored by Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram. Because the Rugby World Cup’s inaugural match was planned for the Stade de France on Friday, the game was played at Paris Saint-Germain’s stadium instead.
Randal Kolo Muani was replaced up front by striker Olivier Giroud as Deschamps made four changes to the squad that overcame Greece 1-0 in the last match.
Though Giroud’s 125th appearance was brief, he was substituted by Thuram after just 25 minutes due to what seemed to be an ankle injury brought on by contact with an Irish player.
The PSG star Kylian Mbappe provided the assist for Tchouameni’s first goal while performing in front of his local fans. Ousmane Dembele, another PSG star, posed a constant right-side danger.
After Tchouameni scored the game’s first goal in the 19th minute, France grabbed control as Irish attacker Chiedozie Ogbene’s speed down the right wing gradually diminished.
Prior to that, Gavin Bazunu almost misjudged a direct free kick from Antoine Griezmann, but the Ireland goalkeeper was able to deflect the ball with his chest.
Three minutes later, Tchouameni took advantage of Mbappe’s back ball well outside the box to curl an incredible 25-meter strike inside the far post, leaving Bazunu with nothing to do.
Following a fast connection with Thuram, Mbappe believed he had increased France’s advantage before halftime, but a VAR review revealed his teammate had been in an offside position throughout the buildup.
Mbappe’s attempt from inside the area was stopped, and Thuram’s rebound goal made it 2-0 in the 48th minute.
Following that, Mike Maignan of France secured yet another shutout with a quick save to save Ogbene’s header.
