Report as France beat Republic of Ireland 2-0 at the Parc des Princes; Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram scored early in both halves; Ireland's Euro 2024 hopes now rely on a must-win qualifier with the Netherlands in Dublin on Sunday
Saturday 9 September 2023 08:26, UK
Republic of Ireland's slim Euro 2024 qualification hopes took another major hit as they were beaten 2-0 by World Cup finalists France in Paris.
Stephen Kenny's side went to the French capital with hope after running Les Bleus close in a 1-0 Dublin defeat in March, but goals early in each half from Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram finding the net early in each half.
Ireland, who were without the injured Evan Ferguson, came close soon after France's second as Chiedoze Ogbene forced Mike Maignan into a superb reflex save from close range.
But ultimately, Ireland were let off the hook by Kylian Mbappe not having his shooting boots on in a simple France win which saw the hosts have 22 shots on goal along with the near 70 per cent possession.
Kenny's side now turn their attentions to what looks like a must-win game with the Netherlands at the weekend, with their qualifier in Dublin representing their last realistic chance of victory to boost their qualification hopes.
Should the Republic of Ireland pull off a shock win at the Aviva Stadium, then Kenny's side will join the Dutch and Greece in joint-second place on six points. The Irish manager issued a rallying cry to the country's supporters to get behind the team.
"From our point of view, it's all about Sunday. That's the main objective," Kenny told RTE Sport after the game.
"It won't be easy, they [the Netherlands] won 3-0 [against Greece] tonight and they've got quality players.
"We have won three out of our four competitive games at home, scored nine goals and only lost to France. At home, since the end of Covid, we have been able to get full-capacity crowds - all of them have been sell-outs. The crowd give us energy, against France [at home] they gave us that."
The tone of the game was set early on as Ireland camped in their box in the first half while France tried to pierce their defence.
The visitors actually barely ventured forwards after lumping an early free-kick, won after nine seconds of play, into the France box to be easily cleared.
Despite early half chances for Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot, Les Bleus found their opener as Tchouameni was set to shoot from distance and he duly obliged, rifling a wonderful effort past Gavin Bazunu at full stretch.
Both Mbappe and Tchouameni cost their respective clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid £230m - which is ten times the price for Ireland's all-time record transfer, which was Nathan Collins' move to Brentford earlier this year for £23m.
France thought it was two when Mbappe squeezed a ball past Bazunu at the near post but there was a correct offside given against Marcus Thuram, who had replaced the injured Olivier Giroud just moments earlier.
Ireland had barely made it out of the tunnel before France made it two, as Mbappe's blocked shot fell into the path of Thuram, who netted his first international goal with a swivel and shot.
Suddenly, Ireland came alive as the enigmatic Ogbene went close twice. First, the Luton forward forced a superb one-handed save from Maignan after heading James McClean's header goalwards from close range. Then Ogbene curled inches over from the edge of the area moments later.
But that was Ireland's brief spell of promise as France stepped back on the pedal. Mbappe put two chances wide, Ousmane Dembele struck the outside of Bazunu's post, while Nathan Collins put in a superb block to deny Antoine Griezmann a third.
Two late headers from either end failed to add to the scoreline. Shane Duffy found Maignan's midriff from a free-kick as Thuram headed a far post effort inexplicably wide.
That was the closest the two teams had in terms of things in common. This was a one-sided affair.
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny:
"France are, in my view, one of the best two teams in the world with real cutting edge through players like Mbappe, Griezmann and Dembele who have such exceptional pace in the team.
"They didn't create many chances against us in the first half, and it was disappointing to concede a goal after 19 minutes. It was a great strike but to concede second half, straight after half-time, gave us a real upward hill to climb.
"The thing about today was we could have lost convincingly but the players gave everything in a sense. No matter who we have played, it was the first time we have been beaten by more than a goal. It's not something I'm proud of, but the players weren't going to give a goal up easily and put their bodies on the line.
"They were too good for us, they are a brilliant team and we pushed them really close in Dublin, right to the end. Today, coming here is a bit different."
Former Republic of Ireland defender Stephen Kelly to Sky Sports News:
"Since Stephen Kenny has been in charge, almost every campaign, his team have been written off very early on in the qualification campaign. So it's been: 'look to the future, look to the future'.
"It's at that stage where it's: do Ireland actually look to the future in the next campaign?
"Ireland have some talented young players, Evan Ferguson is the one they're really looking to build the team around. Andrew Omobamidele has just signed for Nottingham Forest, Dara O'Shea is back in the Premier League and Nathan Collins is there too.
"They have some players who are at a decent level - but still a lot of those players are playing Championship football. That's where the difference is.
"France's team are all competing for the Champions League at the clubs they are at. Ireland's players are looking to get into the Premier League. That's the disparity.
"France is one step too far, but the Netherlands? That's where we have got to think 'can we do enough with this squad of players to step up and get a result?'
"Losing to France wasn't going to be the decider: it was always going to be the Netherlands and Greece. Losing to Greece the first time out was a massive blow for confidence early on in the campaign. Netherlands seemed a bit shaky at the beginning but got a massive result against Greece on Thursday which will give them a bit of confidence.
"This game was always going to be the game where we pull something about the bag: against Italy and Germany in the past. That's what the team has to do now."
Republic of Ireland take on the Netherlands in Dublin in Euro 2024 Qualifying on Sunday - kick-off 7.45pm - in what is a must-win fixture if they want to have any chance of reaching the tournament next summer.
France's next game is a friendly against Germany in Dortmund on Tuesday - kick-off 8pm.
