Mission accomplished: the French team obtained its ticket for Euro-2024 by dominating the Netherlands 2-1 thanks to a double from its star Kylian Mbappé, who put an end to his drought at the best time, Friday in Amsterdam. You should never bury the captain of the Blues too quickly. Mute for four meetings with PSG and ineffective in the selection since June 19, the crack of Bondy woke up where he was expected to propel his team into the final phase of the European Championship (June 14-July 14 in Germany ).
Mbappé overtakes Platini
By scoring his 41st and 42nd goals on the international scene and surpassing the legend Michel Platini (7th, 53rd), Mbappé once again established himself as a savior, to the delight of Didier Deschamps. With the ticket for the Euro in his pocket, the coach can now calmly look forward to the big continental meeting and enjoy a peaceful end to the year, while waiting for the draw for the tournament, scheduled for December 2 in Hamburg.
This success and this qualification only crown an almost faultless year for “DD” whose men will have flown through their group B with six victories so far and only one goal conceded, after the reduction of the Dutch score through Quilindschy Hartman (83rd). The only hitch in 2023 was recorded in a friendly in Germany last month (2-1) but this defeat, suffered with a largely overhauled team and without Mbappé, appears completely anecdotal given the domination of the Blues during this qualifying campaign .
The great merit of Deschamps will have been to surf the magnificent course of his team at the 2022 World Cup and to have been able to regenerate his team after the international retirement of several glorious veterans (Hugo Lloris, Raphaël Varane, Karim Benzema, Steve Mandanda). Faced with such a machine, the Batavians, decimated by injuries and deprived of numerous executives (Sven Botman, Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo), could hardly fight.
Solidity and maturity
The French world vice-champions did not, however, outclass their opponents as they did in the first leg in March at the Stade de France (4-0). But they showed more maturity and solidity after Mbappé opened the score following good work from the Coman-Griezmann-Clauss trio, despite the incursions of Xavi Simons, the most dangerous of the Oranje. The Parisian’s second goal, a masterpiece of a shot into the top corner, only confirmed the French control.
If the Tricolores did not create an avalanche of chances, their control was total and the unique central hinge (Ibrahima Konaté-Lucas Hernandez), in the absence of Dayot Upamecano, forfeited due to injury, did not miss anything. before Hartman’s goal, which prevented Mike Maignan from remaining undefeated in qualifying. The good performance of Jonathan Clauss, author of an assist, is also good news for Deschamps while the right-back position has often been considered the weak link for the Blues in recent times.
Only Randal Kolo Muani can once again be frustrated by his performance. The neo-Parisian is struggling to establish himself at the forefront of the attack and the shadow of veteran Olivier Giroud continues to hover over his head. Without a goal since the one scored in the semi-final of the World Cup against Morocco, the ex-Nantes player has still not found his place in the selection. But as long as the French have a genius of Mbappé’s caliber within them, not much can happen to them.