Players.bio is a large online platform sharing the best live coverage of your favourite sports: Football, Golf, Rugby, Cricket, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA, plus the latest sports news, transfers & scores. Exclusive interviews, fresh photos and videos, breaking news. Stay tuned to know everything you wish about your favorite stars 24/7. Check our daily updates and make sure you don't miss anything about celebrities' lives.

Contacts

  • Owner: SNOWLAND s.r.o.
  • Registration certificate 06691200
  • 16200, Na okraji 381/41, Veleslavín, 162 00 Praha 6
  • Czech Republic

Mbappe delivers for France again in first game as captain

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe delivered for France again, this time wearing the captain’s armband.

Leading a new era for Les Bleus, there was something very familiar about the way Mbappe slotted home two unforgiving finishes to headline a 4-0 win over the Netherlands in European Championship qualifying on Friday.

France showed no lasting effects from that painful penalty-shootout loss to Argentina in the World Cup final three months ago. Nor did Mbappe, the scorer of a hat trick in a losing cause that day.

One of his first touches against the Dutch was to slip a pass inside for Antoine Griezmann, his hair dyed pink, to finish first time for the opening goal inside two minutes at the Stade de France. The two stars embraced, showing there was no lingering feud after Griezmann — the more experienced of the pair — was overlooked for the captaincy in favor of Mbappe following Hugo Lloris’ retirement.

Dayot Upamecano bundled in the second in the eighth minute, and the third goal in a dazzling opening 20 minutes by France was scored by Mbappe. He ran in behind the Netherlands defense and shot inside the near post after Randal Kolo Muani let a pass from Aurelien Tchouaméni roll past him.

Mbappe completed the thrashing in the 88th with a solo goal, picking up the ball 40 meters out and producing a series of feints on the edge of the area before blasting a low shot beyond goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

It took the Paris Saint-Germain striker onto 38 international goals, above Karim Benzema into fifth place on France’s all-time list. While Benzema’s time might be up for the national team, Mbappe — aged 24 and the leader of the new wave of soccer superstars after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — is really only getting started.

Spea

Read more on arabnews.com