France defeats Ireland in Euro 2024 Qualifiers
Benoit Pavard scored the only goal of the match between France and Ireland in the second round of the Euro 2024 Qualifiers.
A goal from Benjamin Pavard helped France, the World Cup runner-up, secure three points against Ireland on Monday in the second round of the European Championship qualifiers. Netherlands also claimed their first victory by defeating Gibraltar 3-0, thanks to a brace from Nathan Aké.
In the 50th minute of a tough match, Pavard unleashed a powerful shot to break Irish resistance and secure three points for Les Bleus, who currently lead Group B with 6 points. They are followed by Netherlands and Greece, who rested on Monday.
"It's never easy against Ireland, they always put up a fight. Today's match was tougher than Friday's, but the opponent was different. Six points is the ideal outcome," said French coach Didier Deschamps after the game, referring to their 4-0 victory over Netherlands in Paris.
After falling behind, Ireland pushed for an equalizer but were stopped by Mike Maignan, the AC Milan goalkeeper who has become Hugo Lloris' successor in the French team. Maignan made three outstanding saves, including a header from Nathan Collins that he tipped over the bar.
"He allowed us to secure three points. It's not easy to follow in Hugo's footsteps, as he did extraordinary things with us, but Mike brings a lot of strength," Deschamps highlighted.
Following their heavy defeat against France, Netherlands, now under the guidance of Ronald Koeman once again, reacted against minnows Gibraltar, winning 3-0 in Rotterdam. This result doesn't reflect the number of opportunities the Dutch had throughout the game.
Memphis Depay (23) and Nathan Aké (50 and 82) were the scorers for Netherlands, against a rival that was reduced to 10 men in the 51st minute after Liam Walker was given a straight red card. AFP