Deschamps: 'We've had an ideal run so far'

Although Paris Saint-Germain goal machine Kylian Mbappé (five strikes in three Ligue 1 Uber Eats matches this season) didn't get on the scoresheet, Les Bleus were dominant against Ireland as they cruised to a fifth Euro 2024 qualifying win on Thursday.

Perfect

With a perfect winning record and no goals conceded in qualifying, France are odds-on favourites to top Group B - they currently enjoy a nine-point lead over the Netherlands in second place, even though they have played two matches more than the Dutch and one more than Greece, Ireland and Gibraltar.

Les Bleus' coach Didier Deschamps was duly pleased by the result but, ever the exacting boss, he noted that he felt his World Cup finalists - with the Hernandez brothers together in defence and PSG men Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé providing the width and pace up front - could have done better.

Deschamps: 'Satisfied and proud'

"We did everything we needed to do to win it, creating ten or so chances against an aggressive team with a strong defensive unit," said Deschamps. "But we could have used our pace more. We scored two goals and didn't concede any. There were also two different goalscorers - that's good. It helps us achieve our objective. The only regret is that we didn't score more given the number of chances we had. But overall, I'm very satisfied and proud of my team. We've had an ideal run so far. We're well on the way to our goal."
Les Bleus' next outing is a friendly against traditional rivals Germany at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund - Ousmane Dembélé's former stomping ground! - at 21:00 CET on Tuesday 12 September.