Untroubled France beats Gibraltar to keep perfect pace in Euro qualifier

Didier Deschamps’ side earned its third straight win to top the group with nine points, three ahead of Greece whom it hosts on Monday.

Olivier Giroud celebrates after opening the scoring for France in the Euro 2024 qualifier against Gibraltar at Estadio Algarve - Faro, Portugal, on June 16, 2023. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

France maintained its perfect run in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 as it beat Gibraltar 3-0 on Friday to top Group B.

Didier Deschamps’ side earned its third straight win to top the group with nine points, three ahead of Greece whom it hosts on Monday. Bottom-placed Gibraltar will travel to Ireland, with both teams seeking to earn its first points.

France took the lead inside three minutes as the country’s leading scorer Oliver Giroud headed home Kingsley Coman’s cross for his 54th international goal.

The AC Milan striker also became France’s third-most capped player equalling Thierry Henry with 123 appearances.

Captain Kylian Mbappe doubled the lead from the penalty spot just before halftime and his pass into the six-yard box in the 78th minute led to an own goal from Aymen Mouelhi to make it 3-0.

“We came here to win, to be as effective as possible, and we only scored three goals, but it could have been five or six,” said coach Deschamps.

“We could have done a lot better, but we know we’ll have a tougher game on Monday... we’re going to have a packed stadium. We’re going to do everything we can to finish the season on a high note on Monday.”