The Republic of Ireland will begin their quest for a place in the 2024 European Championship with a visit from World Cup finalists France this Monday.
The hosts are yet to kick off their Euro qualifiers but had a great outing last time when they beat Latvia 3-2 in an international friendly.
Goals from Callum O’Dowd, Chiedozie Ogbene and 18-year-old Evan Ferguson secured the win for Stephen Kenny’s young side–their second win in a row.
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The Boys in Green now return to Aviva Stadium, where they beat Latvia, looking for another massive win in front of an expectant fans base. However, they haven’t beaten France in any game since October 1981, so this will be a tough challenge.
Les Bleus began their European Championship qualifiers with a massive 4-0 win over the Netherlands, so they are easily the favourites here.
Didier Deschamps’ side are supposedly on a rebuilding journey, but they didn’t look like a team missing their veterans when they dispatched the Dutch. A brace from newly-appointed captain Kylian Mbappe, which came after Antoine Greizmann and Dayot Upamecano had given France a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes, ensured the World Cup finalists made a positive return to competitive action after their tragic end to the World Cup.
Another win will see them set the right pace for the rest of the qualifiers. However, the visitors haven’t won any of their last three matches as the away side (D2, L1), while each of their last four such games produced exactly two goals. So they will have to tread carefully here and not become too confident.
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