March 25, (THEWILL) – Paris Saint-Germain star, Kylian Mbappe, made a commanding debut as the new captain of the French national team on Friday.
Mbappe scored two goals and assisted another as France dominated the Netherlands, winning 4-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifier in Paris. This was the first game for Les Bleus since their World Cup final loss on penalties against Argentina three months ago.
France displayed ruthless efficiency against a depleted Dutch team, missing several key players due to a virus. Mbappe, who has promised to play a unifying role as captain, got the ball rolling in just two minutes, setting up Antoine Griezmann to score. Dayot Upamecano bundled in the second goal in the eighth minute, followed by Mbappe’s name on the scoresheet, making it 3-0 before the midway point in the first half.
Mbappe then sealed the victory in emphatic fashion two minutes from time. The Netherlands could have pulled one back but Memphis Depay had a stoppage-time penalty saved by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Didier Deschamps’ team displayed an astonishing start with an entirely new lineup. There were four changes to the team that played in the World Cup final. The French now head to Dublin to play the Republic of Ireland, and their next game is at home to Gibraltar on Monday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
