Kylian Mbappe scored twice to help France qualify for Euro 2024 with a 2-1 victory against the Netherlands at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Friday night.
The 24-year-old found the net either side of half time, including a stunning second-half strike from outside the box, and although debutant Quilindschy Hartman pulled one back for the Oranje, France held on to preserve their perfect record in Group B.
Mbappe has now scored 42 goals for France and has moved ahead of Michel Platini into fourth on the nation's all-time scoring charts; the Paris Saint-Germain star sits just two goals behind Antoine Griezmann (44) in third, nine behind Thierry Henry (51) in second and 12 adrift of Olivier Giroud (54) at the top of the pile.
France's No.10 has also scored six goals in just five outings versus the Netherlands, his best scoring record against any nation since making his senior debut in 2017.
Didier Deschamps's side have punched their ticket to next year's Euros in Germany with two games to spare and they remain at the summit of Group B with a maximum 18 points from six games, nine clear of Ronald Koeman's men who have slipped to third place after Greece beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 to climb up to second.
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It took just seven minutes for France to open the scoring in Amsterdam, with Mbappe hooking a right-footed volley from inside the six-yard box beyond Dutch debutant goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen after receiving a cross from Jonathan Clauss.
France were in control of proceedings after taking the lead, but the Netherlands came close to equalising just before the half-hour mark when Joey Veerman – starting his first game for the senior side – placed a side-footed shot agonisingly over the crossbar after receiving a cutback from Denzel Dumfries.
The Dutch gradually grew into the game and Xavi Simons got the home fans excited with two decent efforts, the first deflected over before the second, a low-driven shot towards the bottom-left corner, was kept out well by Mike Maignan.
An injury sustained to target man Wout Weghorst forced Koeman to make an early change and slightly tweak his team's approach in the final third, with pacey Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen brought on seven minutes before the break.
Take a bow Kylian Mbappé! 🙇♂️
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) October 13, 2023
An outrageous outside-the-box goal from the French forward 🤯🇫🇷#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/4q4gpky6E8
Eight minutes after the interval, France doubled their advantage in exceptional fashion when Mbappe played a neat one-two with Adrien Rabiot on the left before rifling a wonderful strike into the far corner from around 20 yards out.
Netherlands thought they had pulled one back just a few minutes later when Malen buried a finish from close range, but Nathan Ake was caught marginally offside in the build-up.
France looked to be heading for a routine victory as the contest entered the closing stages, but the Oranje provided a glimmer of hope for the raucous home supporters seven minutes from time when left wing-back Hartman caught Maignan at his near post with a low shot from a tight angle following a free-flowing move down the left with Steven Bergwijn.
Despite seeing their five-game run without conceding a goal in Group B come to an end, the French eventually held on to claim a deserved three points, returning to winning ways a month after losing 2-1 in a friendly against Germany.
Netherlands will look to bounce back with a victory when they travel to Athens to take on Greece in a potentially-pivotal qualifier next Monday, while France welcome Scotland to Villeneuve-d'Ascq for a friendly a day later.
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