Euro 2024 qualifying: France's Kylian Mbappe breaks Just Fontaine goals record

Kylian Mbappe set a new scoring record as France stretched their 100 per cent start in European Championship qualifying Group B with a 1-0 win over Greece in Paris on Monday.

The French captain's 55th-minute penalty was his 54th goal of the season and took him clear of Just Fontaine to become the top French scorer in a single club and international campaign.

It was Mbappe's 13th goal in 13 games for France this season, to go with 41 in all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain.

He now has 40 goals in 70 games for his country and needs just one more goal to equal Michel Platini's tally in a France shirt.

But there was an air of fortune about his winner after Odysseas Vlachodimos palmed away his initial penalty only for the referee to spot an infringement and order the kick to be retaken.

Kolo Muani and Jules Kounde also had good chances for France while Greece’s task became harder after Konstantinos Mavropanos was sent off for a foul on Muani in the 69th minute.

France's win in their last outing this season follows their 3-0 defeat of minnows Gibraltar last Friday and leaves them clear on top of qualifying Group B with 12 points from four games.

They have not conceded a goal so far and are six points clear of Greece, albeit having played a game more.

"It has been a very long season for the players. They have been waiting for their holidays but we did what we needed to do to win the match," France coach Didier Deschamps told broadcaster TF1.

"This is a team with less experience than six months ago, but there is plenty of quality."

In the same group, Republic of Ireland took 52 minutes to break through Gibraltar’s defence before goals from Mikey Johnston, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah secured a 3-0 win in Dublin.

In Group C,