France 3-0 Andorra: Les Bleus triumph despite another Griezmann penalty miss

Antoine Griezmann missed another penalty as France made hard work of beating a side ranked 133 places below it in the world.

Published : Sep 11, 2019 08:33 IST

France's Antoine Griezmann missed his second penalty in three days, but teed up Lenglet early in the second half to double Les Bleus' advantage.

Kingsley Coman, Clement Lenglet and Wissam Ben Yedder were on target as a below-par France registered a 3-0 win over Andorra in Euro 2020 qualifying at the Stade de France on Tuesday.

Fresh from his two goals in Saturday's 4-1 win over Albania, Coman opened the scoring after 18 minutes with a cool finish.

Antoine Griezmann missed his second penalty in three days, but teed up Lenglet early in the second half to double Les Bleus' advantage, before Ben Yedder's late third.

The win means France is level on 15 points with Group H leader Turkey, three points ahead of third-place Iceland.

France was far from its fluid best in the opening stages, with its less illustrious opponents comfortably keeping it at arm's length.

It did find a way through in the 18th minute, though, Coman latching onto Jonathan Ikone's pass, taking a touch and then clipping over Josep Gomes.

Moments after pawing away Olivier Giroud's instinctive half-volley, the Andorra goalkeeper had a moment to savour.

Coman's 'efficiency' delights France boss Deschamps

Didier Deschamps has praised Coman's "efficiency" after his strike in France's 3-0 win.

"I already told you that he's added efficiency since last season," Deschamps told a media conference.

France winger Kingsley Coman
 

"Dribbling, creating danger, he knows how to do it. To see him play this well is good for me. 

"In a month, I will make choices but I'm happy for him; he needed that. What he has done in these two games is the same level as what he has done with his club lately."

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"It's good, even if the score should have been heavier because of the chances we created," he told TF1 .

"We did what we had to do in these September games. We had to take the six points. The six points is good, but the next six will be important too."

Moises San Nicolas pulled down Griezmann in the area in the 28th minute, but the Barcelona forward saw his resulting spot-kick superbly kept out by Gomes.

Perhaps frustrated with his side's inability to break down Andorra's stubborn defence, Raphael Varane tried his luck from 30 yards. Gomes was equal to it, though, tipping over to ensure the visitor went into the break just one goal behind.

France started the second half in more positive fashion and was rewarded in the 52nd minute when Lenglet headed home Griezmann's free-kick from six yards.

Gomes then kept out Coman's header, which looked destined for the top corner, before Moussa Sissoko thumped a header of his own against the crossbar from point-blank range.

Coman then scooped an effort onto the crossbar before substitute Ben Yedder added a third in stoppage time, slotting home after Nabil Fekir's free-kick had been parried into his path.

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What does it mean? Les Bleus march on but fail to impress France was by far the dominant team but will have expected to register a more handsome scoreline against such limited opponents. As it is, a fifth win in six games means Group H is finely poised, with Iceland ready to pounce if Didier Deschamps' side or Turkey slips up. Coman cements his place Before the weekend, the Bayern Munich winger had not scored for his country since March 2016. He has added three goals to that tally over this international break and looks very much at home in the World Cup winner's starting XI. Griezmann's blushes spared It has been a week to forget for the Barcelona star. He laughed off his second penalty miss in consecutive games, seemingly confident that he would have plenty more chances to get on the scoresheet. He did not.

Deschamps to discuss penalties with Griezmann after latest miss

France coach Didier Deschamps admitted he would discuss penalties with Griezmann, but backed the forward to continue taking spot-kicks.

"Antoine, he doesn't gamble. When he had to score them, he scored them," he said, via RMC Sport .

"When they were decisive, he didn't tremble. It remains two failures.

"I will talk about it perhaps with him knowing, if there is another to shoot in October, he'll be there."

Griezmann became the first France player to miss two consecutive penalties over the past 10 seasons, having scored his first seven for his nation.

What's next? France faces a huge double header next month, taking on Iceland and Turkey within the space of three days. Andorra also faces Iceland in the next round of fixtures, following the visit of Moldova.