France maintains their unbeaten Euro record with a victory over Ireland.
France has made a big step towards the Euro 2024 title with a 2-0 home victory over Ireland, keeping their flawless qualifying record intact.
In a one-sided contest played at the Parc des Princes to conserve the Stade de France pitch for Friday’s Rugby World Cup opener between France and New Zealand, Les Bleus won courtesy to goals by Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram.
France maintains their unbeaten Euro record with a victory over Ireland.
Their sixth win in a row increased their Group B lead to 15 points, nine more than the Netherlands, who beat Greece 3-0 and have played two less games.
France plays Germany in a friendly on Tuesday before returning to qualifying action on October 13 against the Netherlands.
France dominated Ireland in midfield and were rewarded on 19 minutes with Tchouameni’s 18-metre strike following Kylian Mbappe’s beautiful touch.
Olivier Giroud limped off the field and was replaced by Marcus Thuram after his left ankle was iced.
Thuram made his presence felt when he doubled the lead three minutes into the second half with a shot on the spin after Mbappe’s attempt was diverted into his path. It was Thuram’s first goal for France.
Mike Maignan made a spectacular stop to deny Chiedozie Ogbene, ensuring France is yet to lose a goal in qualification.
Tchouameni came near again with a powerful shot, but Gavin Bazunu parried it away.
Ousmane Dembele, who tormented the Irish defence with his spectacular runs in the first half, also wasted a chance to score a third when his shot hit the post.
Marten de Roon, Cody Gakpo, and Wout Weghorst scored three first-half goals to help the Netherlands defeat Greece 3-0 in Eindhoven.
After failing to qualify for the Nations League finals in June, the Dutch showed significant improvement.
Coach Ronald Koeman has encouraged his players to show more steely resolve after losing three of their first four games in charge.
De Roon scored his first international goal after 17 minutes, thumping home a cross headed down by Denzel Dumfries from a corner.
Gakpo was unmarked at the back post when the Greek defence was exposed, finishing off a wonderful cross from Dumfries, who completed a hat-trick of assists in the 39th minute by providing Weghorst with a chipped cross to head home with a diving effort.
Dumfries had a chance to score but was denied by the post in the 36th minute, while Xavi Simons’ curving attempt in the 28th minute resulted in a miraculous one-handed save from Greek keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
The Greeks suffered their biggest defeat since Gustavo Poyet took over as coach 18 months ago, despite a lack of chances in the second half.
The Netherlands meet Ireland in a crucial qualifier in Dublin on Sunday, while Greece hosts Gibraltar in Athens.
Denmark thrashed San Marino 4-0, Slovenia defeated Northern Ireland 4-2, and Serbia fell to Hungary 2-1 at home.
