Title: Mbappe’s penalty gives France narrow win over Greece in Euro 2024 qualifier
France edge past Greece with Mbappe's penalty
France continued their flawless start to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Greece at the Stade de France on Monday. The only goal of the game came from Kylian Mbappe, who scored a penalty in the 55th minute after a horrific foul by Konstantinos Mavropanos on Antoine Griezmann.
The incident left Griezmann bleeding from his head and needing a bandage, while Mavropanos was lucky to escape with a yellow card. The Arsenal defender was later sent off for a second bookable offence when he tripped Randal Kolo Muani in the 69th minute.
Mbappe had his initial spot-kick saved by Odysseas Vlachodimos, but the referee ordered a retake as some Greek players had encroached into the box. The Paris Saint-Germain star made no mistake with his second attempt, sending the keeper the wrong way and scoring his fourth goal in four qualifiers.
The goal was also Mbappe's 54th of the season in all competitions, breaking Lionel Messi's record for the most goals scored by a European player in a single campaign. The 24-year-old has been in sensational form for club and country, leading PSG to a domestic treble and France to the Nations League title.
Greece, who had won their first two qualifiers against Gibraltar and Kazakhstan, offered little threat to France's defence, which has yet to concede a goal in the group. The visitors managed only two shots on target, both of which were comfortably dealt with by Hugo Lloris.
France dominated possession and created several chances to extend their lead, but were denied by some fine saves from Vlachodimos and some poor finishing. Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante all came close to scoring, but could not find the back of the net.
The match ended with 14 minutes of added time due to the lengthy stoppage for Griezmann's injury and some other incidents. However, Greece could not take advantage of the extra time and failed to trouble France's defence.
The result means that France have won all four of their qualifiers and are top of Group B with 12 points, six ahead of second-placed Greece, who have a game in hand. France will face Kazakhstan away in their next match on September 2, while Greece will host Republic of Ireland on the same day.
France are the favourites to win the group and qualify for Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany. The world champions will be hoping to add another trophy to their collection after winning the World Cup in 2018 and the Nations League in 2021.
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