France boss praises Mike Maignan after his late save denies Ireland a point

France boss Didier Deschamps hailed goalkeeper Mike Maignan after seeing his late save denied the Republic of Ireland a first point for their Euro 2024 qualification account.

Maignan clawed away a 90th-minute Nathan Collins header seconds after keeping out team-mate Jules Kounde’s attempted clearance to ensure Benjamin Pavard’s goal was enough to secure a 1-0 Group B win in Dublin.

The AC Milan keeper has taken over from World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris in the national side and fully justified his status as number one at the Aviva Stadium on a night when he had little to do until the end.

⏰8⃣9⃣ Outrageous Maignan save!#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/mFSZXICd9s

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 27, 2023

Deschamps said: “It was an incredible save and we know what Mike is capable of. Hugo was captain for a long time and he also made great saves.

“Mike has great qualities, his stature and his mentality. He saved a penalty last Friday, but this was more significant. I never had any doubts about him. He is a great leader and a great player.”

Pavard’s 50th-minute strike ultimately settled a game which France dominated for long periods without causing Ireland too many genuine problems.

However, it took Maignan’s stunning intervention to keep out Collins’ effort, which would have fully justified Stephen Kenny’s game-plan and the way in which his players implemented it.

Republic boss Kenny said: “We have watched France’s last 20 games and we’ve never seen Kylian Mbappe, who I voted for as the best player in the world, have such a quiet night. I’ve never seen it, never seen it.

Not the result we wanted, but plenty of positives to take into June