Mbappe disappears, France team wins Ireland thanks to defender

Summary Republic of Ireland 0-1 France

Welcoming the reigning World Cup runner-up, the Republic of Ireland played with a deep defensive formation. The tightness of the home team caused the French team's attack to be deadlocked despite having superior possession time. The French team's top attacking stars such as Mbappe, Griezmann, Kolo Muani and Giroud were all helpless against the solidly organized defense of the Republic of Ireland.

It was not until the 50th minute that France finally broke the deadlock after a mistake by Josh Cullen of the Republic of Ireland. He lost the ball to Benjamin Pavard near the penalty area. The French right-back suddenly unleashed a decisive long-range shot that hit the crossbar and went into the net, leaving goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu helpless.

Mbappe disappears, France team wins Ireland thanks to defender - 1 — Benjamin Pavard shines to help France win. (Photo: Getty)

Despite being outplayed, the Republic of Ireland still managed to fire off 11 shots, equal to their opponents. In the last 10 minutes, they had 2 shots on target. Fortunately for the French team, goalkeeper Mike Maignan played with concentration, keeping all 3 points for "Les Bleus".