France 4-0 Netherlands: Player Rating as Mbappe leads to way to ruin Koeman’s comeback

kylian-mbappe-and-antoine-griezmann

Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann put their captaincy battle behind them to help France to a comfortable win over the Netherlands.

France won their first game since their World Cup final defeat in style, beating the Netherlands 4-0 at the Stade de France to kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a bang.

Antoine Griezmann put France in front early on after being replaced by the man he picked over him as captain, Kylian Mbappe, before Dayot Upamecano doubled their advantage inside eight minutes after Jasper Cillessen converted from a free-kick.

Mbappe made it three before midway through the first half before hitting a superb second late on as Didier Deschamps’ men cruised to an opening Group B victory.

The Dutch have lost several players in the build-up to the game due to the virus, but will be even more ill at the start of their qualification campaign and Ronald Koeman’s second spell as head coach, with Memphis Depay seeing a late penalty saved to add insult to injury.

After all the fuss about the France captaincy, it was somewhat fitting that Mbappe fed the ball inside to Griezmann’s foot low and hard to Cillessen’s right to give the hosts a second-minute lead.

It was 2-0 soon after as Cillessen failed to deal with Griezmann’s free-kick from the right, the ball deflected off Upamecano and rolled through the Dutch keeper’s legs into the net.

Mbappe scored his first goal as captain in the 21st minute when he played the ball to Aurelien Tchouameni on the halfway line before running down the left side of the box to latch on to the Real Madrid midfielder’s back pass – played in by Randal Kolo Muani – before finishing calmly.

Koeman intervened by introducing Manchester United’s Wout Weghorst for Kenneth Taylor after just 33 minutes.

That was until Depay’s sloppy back pass found Mbappe, who teased Jurrien Timber and Daley Blind before firing past Cillessen to make it 4-0 in the 88th minute, while Depay saw his stoppage time penalty saved by Maignan , ended a miserable game. Dutchman.

France player ratings

Mike Maignan, 8

Jules Koundé, 6

Ibrahima Konaté, 7

Dayot Upamecano, 8 – Arguably the most in-form defender in the world right now.

Théo Hernandez, 6

Antoine Griezmann, 8 – A complete midfield performance from the newly-named vice-captain, who shrugged off his initial disappointment at missing out on the armband by showing once again why he was repositioned by Deschamps. Was the catalyst for countless counters in recovering the ball and finding his attacking partners in the blink of an eye – his first goal being the best example. Replaced by Eduardo Camavinga.

Aurélien Tchouaméni, 7

Adrien Rabiot, 6

Kingsley Coman, 6 – Made less of an impact than his fellow forwards, but was still too much for the Dutch defence to handle – some sensational sprints down the wing, the last of which nearly converted on the volley by Kolo Muani. Replaced just after the hour mark by Moussa Diaby.

Randal Kolo Muani, 7 – He may not have scored, but the former Nantes man has showed that he is more than up to the task of being the number nine in Mbappé’s beloved “pivot gang” in his altruistic style of play. Involved in virtually every attack, notably with some great vision on letting the ball run past him to put the PSG man clean through to score Les Bleus’ third of the game. Replaced by Olivier Giroud.

Kylian Mbappé, 8 – Led by example for his first outing as captain, scoring a goal at the end of each half – the first, a clinical one-on-one finish, the second a sensational piece of footwork with a double feint before a bottom corner finish from the edge of the box.

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