As they swiftly exorcised the ghosts of their World Cup heartbreak and launched their charge toward a new conquest, France were ruthless against their strongest opponents in their Euro 2024 qualifying group.
France outplayed the Netherlands in every facet of the game, and after scoring early on, they didn’t need to change up their approach to defeat them 4-0.
In their first game back since losing to Argentina in the World Cup championship match, Les Bleus slammed the Netherlands with goals at the Stade de France in a display of devastating offensive prowess.
Antoine Griezmann scored the game’s first goal in just the second minute, and Dayot Upamecano doubled the lead in the eighth. .
Kylian Mbappe added to l’Orange’s woes in the 21st minute by scoring three goals before the half-hour mark before scoring twice in the 88th.
In the 94th minute, Mike Maignan was presented with a penalty kick opportunity for Memphis Depay to score a consoling goal, but the Atletico Madrid player misplayed the ball.
How it happened
Didier Deschamps’ choice to make Kylian Mbappe captain instead of Antoine Griezmann sparked a wave of reports and rumors suggesting a rift in their relationship. However, the pair quickly allayed any concerns about the implications for their on-field chemistry by combining for Les Bleues first in the opening two minutes.
The early goal rocked the Dutch, and shortly afterward they fell further behind with their defense in complete disarray, with defender Dayot Upamecano this time dishing out the punishment.
When it rains, it pours, and it did indeed; there were three goals before the half-hour mark, with Kylian Mbappe scoring his first goal of the match by converting on an exquisite pass from Aurelien Tchouameni to make an impactful statement about his captaincy.
Although Moussa Diaby believed he had made it four, the VAR disqualified him for offside. After teasing the Dutch defense before shooting past the hapless Jasper Cillessen, Mbappe made the score even worse.
When Upamecano handled the ball in the box, the Netherlands had a chance to win a tiebreaker, but Depay’s poor penalty attempt was easily stopped by Mike Maignan.
That was all there was time for, as France easily won their opening match with Mbappe serving as captain and took immediate control of Group B.
In his first game back, Koeman loses in an embarrassing fashion.
As we extensively covered here, Ronald Koeman was slated to take over for Louis Van Gaal, who resigned from the position following l’Orange’s quarterfinal loss to Argentina in Qatar 2022, and was expected to lead the Netherlands once more.
