Mbappe scores, France beats Ukraine on opening day of World Cup qualifiers

(NLDO) – The French team started their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine with the brilliance of Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe.

The match took place at the Tarczynski Arena (Poland), which Ukraine chose as a temporary home ground amid the tense situation at home due to the conflict with Russia, to welcome the French team. With superior force, France quickly imposed the game and soon made a difference.

The two teams met on neutral ground in Poland.

In the 10th minute, Bradley Barcola broke down the left wing and crossed for Michael Olise to shoot decisively, opening the score for "Les Bleus". This was Olise's 3rd goal in just four matches for the French national team, showing the quick integration of the young talent playing for Bayern Munich.

Michael Olise opened the scoring for France

After the opening goal, Didier Deschamps and his team continuously created dangerous attacks. However, the excellence of goalkeeper Andriy Trubin helped the Ukrainian net not to shake again in the first 45 minutes of the match.

In the second half, the Eastern European team suddenly rose up, in which the header of center-back Illia Zabarnyi - PSG's new 63 million euro player - hit the post, making the French team's goal shake.

The situation was turning in Ukraine's favor until the 82nd minute when France created a turning point.

Kylian Mbappe sealed victory for "Les Bleus"

Starting from a quick counter-attack, Aurelien Tchouameni sent a smart through pass for Kylian Mbappe to accelerate and then shoot diagonally, sealing a 2-0 victory.

This was the Real Madrid star's 51st goal for his country, helping him equal the scoring record of legend Thierry Henry and only behind Olivier Giroud's record of 57 goals for France.

France team confidently aims for the top spot when facing Iceland after 4 days

The victory of the "Gauloise Rooster" was overshadowed by the injuries of Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembélé. Coach Deschamps accordingly gave the opportunity to young striker Hugo Ekitike to make his debut in the national team shirt, helping the new Liverpool player have more motivation in the coming time.

Winning all 3 points, France is still temporarily ranked second in Group D because in the same match, Iceland won 5-0 against Azerbaijan to take the lead in the group.

France will host Iceland in the second match on September 9 at home at Parc des Princes, a match that is important to determine the strongest candidate in this group.

Italy thrashed Estonia 5-0 in new head coach Gennaro Gattuso's first game in charge but finished third in Group G behind Norway and Israel. Switzerland cruised to a 4-0 win over Kosovo to top Group B while Premier League stars Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko played a part in Sweden's 2-2 draw with Slovenia, finishing behind Italy.

Greece beat Belarus 5-1 in Group C while Israel defeated host Moldova 4-0 in Group D were other notable results in the early morning match on September 6.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/mbappe-lap-cong-phap-thang-ukraine-ngay-ra-quan-vong-loai-world-cup-19625090606055884.htm