Author: Amrit Santlani
France maintain their lead after a flawless victory
Winners of the 2018 World Cup and runners-up at Qatar 2022, France looked to maintain their winning streak in Group B of Euro 2024 when they hosted Ireland at the Parc des Princes in Paris. Didier Deschamps’ men managed to secure a convincing 2-0 win, earning their fifth consecutive victory in the qualifying phase. This has helped the French stay top of the group and, having scored 11 goals in the qualifying phase, they haven’t conceded a goal so far.
In the 19th minute, Tchoumeni scored with a long-range shot after a pass from Mbappe – 1:0. Soon after, Giroud suffered a hamstring injury. With the Milan derby coming up on September 16, Milan will face an anxious wait, as their top scorer has started the season with a bang, with 4 goals in 3 Serie A games.
Thuram, who replaced Giroud, managed to score at the start of the second half – 2-0. In addition, Dembele could have scored, but he hit the post. Ogbene had a glorious chance to put Ireland ahead, but his header was well saved by Maignan in what was the only noteworthy chance for the visitors.
Denzel Dumfries’ masterclass gives the Netherlands a clear victory
On the other hand, the Netherlands beat Greece 3-0 thanks to three goals in the first half, allowing them to climb to second place in Group B of the Euro qualifiers, behind leaders France. With two wins in three games, the Dutch have six points and are ahead of Greece only on goal difference. The 4-0 defeat to France in the first round would have hurt Ronald Koeman’s side, but they responded by beating Gibraltar and Greece by similar scorelines.
The hero of the match was Denzel Dumfries, who provided three assists and hit the post. The hosts needed just 17 minutes to open the scoring: Dumfries took advantage of a corner taken by Blind, and the former left everything ready for De Roon to open the scoring.
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Koeman’s men made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark. Dumfries was again involved in the build-up play before passing the ball to Gakpo, who fired a half-volley past the keeper. Gakpo almost returned the favor to his fellow Dutchman when Dumfries unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, but the ball skimmed the crossbar. In the 39th minute, Dumfries crossed for Weghorst and the Dutch were 3-0 up before the break.
Other results:
Group E
- Poland – Faroe Islands – 2:0
- Czech Republic – Albania – 1:1
Group G
- Serbia-Hungary – 1-2
- Lithuania-Montenegro – 2-2
Group H
- Kazakhstan – Finland – 0:1
- Denmark – San Marino – 4:0
- Slovenia – Northern Ireland – 4:2