27/3/2023–|Last updated: 3/28/202312:26 AM (Makkah)
France returned from Dublin with its second victory in Group Two of the Euro 2024 qualifiers at the expense of Ireland 1-0, and the Netherlands compensated for its harsh defeat in the opening match by defeating the modest Gibraltar national team 3-0.
And the “Roosters” team had started the “Euro 2024” qualifiers with a landslide victory over the Netherlands 4-0, including a brace for its new captain Kylian Mbappe, the top scorer of the Qatar World Cup 2022, who was absent yesterday, Monday, in a meeting whose hero was Benjamin Pavard, who scored the only goal early in the second half. .
Didier Deschamps entered the meeting by making 3 adjustments to the squad compared to the first against the Netherlands, so he included Pavard instead of Jules Conde in defense and Olivier Giroud in the center of the spear, with Kingsley Coman and Eduardo Camavinga remaining in place of Aurelien Choameni in the middle.
With the ambition to qualify for the first major tournament since the 2016 European Cup, in which host France lost its final match against Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo, the Irish tried hard against the 2022 World Cup runners-up, but talent and experience overcame courage to the point that the hosts were unable even to get out of their region.
That Pavard goal 📸#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/OwtAXUWjOB
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 27, 2023
Despite the great French advantage, Deschamps’ men were unable to actually threaten the Irish goal until the 38th minute, when Griezmann was close to opening the scoring with a header after a cross from Pavard, but his attempt passed by the left post.
The Irish were active late in the first half and threatened the French goal with successive set pieces, but without reaching Mike Mignan’s goal, the first half ended in a goalless draw.
But the French struck at the beginning of the second half with a wonderful goal by Pavard, who extracted the ball after a wrong pass from Joshua Cullen, before firing a missile from the outskirts of the area, to bounce off the post and into the net (51).
The “roosters” were close to the second goal with a long shot from Adrien Rabiot, but goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno excelled in defending his own goal (76), before the landlords woke up in the final minutes without success, to fall in their first test in this group after Minyan shone in blocking Colin’s header in time killer.
So. Much. Drama!
🔝 Performance of the day? #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/J17qTybSJq
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 27, 2023
Holland compensates with a brace
In Rotterdam, the Netherlands was unable to repeat its sweeping victories over Gibraltar in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers (7-0 and 6-0), but it secured the first three points with a 3-0 victory, giving coach Ronald Koeman his first victory in his new, old mission, which he regained after the departure of veteran Louis van Empty after the Qatar World Cup.
Given the modest level of the opponent, the Netherlands was not affected by the many absences in its ranks, whether due to injury or the virus, from which the heart of defense, Matthijs de Ligt, recovered and started, and Cody Khakpo, who participated in the second half.
🇳🇱🆚🇬🇮
Depay ⚽️
What a ⚽️⚽️#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/45hJWvXoIC— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 27, 2023
Memphis Depay opened the scoring for the landlords in the 23rd minute with a header following a cross from Denzel Dumfries, raising his score to 44 goals in 88 matches in the colors of the “orange” and became 6 goals away from the historical top scorer Robin van Persie.
The “Orange” was not satisfied with the goal of the Spanish striker, Atletico Madrid, but Nathan Ake added the second goal immediately after the two-half break, with a header after another cross from Dumfries (50).
The task of the Netherlands became easier after the expulsion of Liam Walker (51), so Akih added his second personal goal from a long shot (82), with which Koeman’s men secured the first points, to become the same distance from Greece, which won the first round against Gibraltar with the same yield of goals.
