Kylian Mbappe approached the record for the number of goals in French history, and the French national team took a giant step towards qualifying for the World Cup with a routine victory over Azerbaijan tonight.
Mbappe started the night five goals behind Olivier Giroud’s record tally of 57, but came within one goal after opening the scoring at the Parc des Princes.
Adrien Rabiot added the second goal, and Florian Thauvin added a late third for Didier Deschamps’ side, who are now… It leads Group 4, five points ahead of second-placed Ukraine, and is on its way to securing a place in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.
The only high point of the evening was the sight of Mbappe limping off with eight minutes remaining after what appeared to be a recurring ankle injury.
Mbappé opens the match brilliantly
Mbappe spoke yesterday about the possibility of surpassing the Giroud mark tonight and gave an early indication of his determination with a low shot that was blocked by Azerbaijan goalkeeper Shahruddin Magomedaliyev.
Magomedaliyev also blocked Malo Gusteau’s attempt 10 minutes later, while France was seeking to achieve the first goal.
But the fast start gradually gave way to stalemate, as France dominated the ball but did little against the Azerbaijani team, who were happy to sit low and frustrated.
Michael Olise was making little progress down the right flank while Hugo Ekiteke was a fringe figure alongside Mbappé.
It took something special to break the deadlock and it came, as expected, from captain and talisman Mbappe in first-half stoppage time.
There appeared to be little danger when the Real Madrid star picked up the ball 50 yards from goal but he skipped past two defenders, exchanging a fortuitous exchange with Ekitiki before slotting the ball past Magomedaliyev and into the bottom right corner.
Ekitiki almost scored the second goal within four minutes of the start of the second half, as his attempt hit the post, before the match returned to a familiar pattern of attack versus defence.
Mbappe came close to scoring with another goal, but Bahloul Mustafa Zadeh blocked a wonderful shot, while Magomedaliyev blocked Khevren Thuram’s shot.
It seemed like the second goal was bound to come, and it arrived at the right time thanks to Rabiot, the Milan midfielder, heading in Mbappé’s midfield after 69 minutes.
Mateta makes his debut before Thauvin scores a stunning goal
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was brought on for his France debut before Thauvin was introduced in place of Mbappe in his first appearance since the Euro 2020 qualifier against Andorra in June 2019.
His impact was immediate, as he converted a cross from Theo Hernandez into the net with a stunning scissor kick.
https://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mbappe-2.jpg
Source link