French sensation Kylian Mbappe reaches yet another milestone in his career in France’s UEFA Euro Qualification game against Greece. The 24-year-old newly appointed national team captain displayed a blistering performance and secured victory over a Greece side that was reduced to 10 men.
The first and only goal of the game came from a penalty kick in the 55th minute, after Greece goalkeeper Konstantinos Mavropanos fouled Antoine Griezmann inside the penalty box, giving a nasty cut to the Atletico Madrid forward’s face. Mbappe’s initial penalty got saved but had to be retaken thanks to an infringement spotted by the officials. Mbappe struck the ball in the top-right corner in his second attempt.
Mavropanos received his marching orders for hauling down Kolo Muani in the 69th minute, and Greece was reduced to 10. France, however, was unable to find another goal in the remaining time, but Mbappe was awarded Man of the Match.
Kylian Mbappe surpasses Just Fontaine
With his penalty, Mbappe has broken Just Fontaine’s record for most goals by a French player in a single season for club and country combined. Tuesday’s goal was Mbappe’s 54th of the season, with which he surpassed the former OGC Nice and Stade Reims player’s 53-goal record in the 1957-58 season.
Kylian Mbappe has broken the all-time French record for most goals scored in a single season for club and country đ«đ·đ„ pic.twitter.com/QTJorJzOGr
— LiveScore (@livescore) June 20, 2023
Mbappe brought his impressive Ligue 1 performances this season to the national team table as well. For the Ligue 1 Champions Paris Saint-Germain, the 24-year-old superstar scored 41 goals and provided 10 assists across all competitions, which was a large contribution towards the Parisians winning the Ligue 1 and the Trophee des Champions.
How did other teams do in the EURO qualifiers?
Ireland defeated Gibraltar 3-0 in Dublin thanks to goals from Mikey Johnston, Evan Ferguson, and Adam Idah in Group B action.
Group C leaders England scored seven goals against North Macedonia, so Ukraine should consider themselves fortunate to have maintained second place.
Tigran Barseghyan scored a penalty in injury time to give Armenia a 2-1 win over Latvia in Group D and follow up their stunning victory over Wales in Cardiff last weekend.
Group H leaders Finland dominated San Marino, with Daniel Hakans scoring a hat trick in the victory. Kazakhstan surprised Northern Ireland with a 1-0 win in Belfast thanks to a goal from Abat Aymbetov in the 88th minute. This allowed them to move up to second place after Slovenia and Denmark tied 1-1.
Switzerland’s perfect record in Group I was snapped when they allowed two late goals to Romania in their own stadium. After two first-half goals from Zeki Amdouni, the Swiss appeared to be cruising to a fourth straight win. But Romania responded, scoring in the 89th minute thanks to Valentin Mihaila, and then again two minutes into injury time to salvage a point.
Who will you be supporting in the EURO 2024 in Germany? Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments!
