France beat Finland by 2-0 away from home in the final group game of the World Cup qualifiers and knocked the Finnish out of the race to qualify for the World Cup 2022.
It was an evenly-matched first half as both teams managed one shot each on target but neither side managed to break the deadlock. In the second, France dominated the game and didn’t allow the host a single shot on target.
Karim Benzema broke the deadlock midway through the second half before Kylian Mbappe doubled the margin in the 76th minute with a great solo effort.
Finland 0-2 France:
France was already qualified for next year’s World Cup before coming into this game. On the other hand, Finland had to win this game to keep their hopes alive to qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs route.
But, after losing this encounter, Finland was eliminated and Ukraine booked a place for the playoffs by beating Bosnia & Herzegovina in the final game.
After the game, French boss Didier Deschamps was full of praise for the attacking trio Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. He also said that to give the attacking players license to showcase their talents, the French side should have a solid defensive foundation, so the back three shape is getting more useful day by day. Deschamps said on the official Website:
“(Smiles) It’s a formula that works even if it was normal to make some changes to give other players time to play. This Finnish team gave us a hard time, the entry of Karim (Benzema) and Kingsley (Coman) brought more offensive weight which allowed us to score these two goals, to have less to defend and to pose. no more problems for our evening opponents.
“It is happiness. They have this technical relationship, with Antoine (Griezmann) also when he plays. It seems easy for them because they are this technical capacity and this complementarity. Karim and Kylian have a formidable efficiency. They confirm all the talent they have. I’ll put them in quiet ice cubes to keep them cool (laughs)! Just kidding, they still have a lot of matches ahead of them at the club, but the combination of qualities and talent allows the French team to perform even better.”
The upcoming fixtures for both teams:
France has qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 along with the other nine teams from Europe and second-placed Ukraine will have to go through to the playoffs route in March to book a ticket for Qatar next year.
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