France v Netherlands: Mbappe scores on debut as captain

Match Report

Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal as France captain to give the world champions a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in their opening Euro 2024 qualifying match in Leipzig on Wednesday.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward struck in the 14th minute, firing home a low shot from outside the box after being played in by Antoine Griezmann.

It was a deserved lead for France, who were the better side for much of the first half. They created several chances, with Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele both going close.

The Netherlands improved after the break, but they were unable to find a way past the France defence, which was marshalled superbly by Raphael Varane.

The win gives France a perfect start to their qualifying campaign, while the Netherlands will be disappointed to have lost their opening match.

Reaction

"It was a good performance from the team," said France coach Didier Deschamps. "We created a lot of chances and we deserved to win."

"Kylian was excellent tonight," added Deschamps. "He scored a great goal and he led the team well."

"We're disappointed to have lost," said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman. "But we can take some positives from the performance. We created some good chances and we were unlucky not to score."

"We'll learn from this and we'll come back stronger in our next match."