Kylian Mbappe notched a goal and two assists as a stylish France continued their perfect start in Euro 2020 qualifying with a 4-0 hammering of Iceland in Paris.
Samuel Umtiti gave the world champions the lead after just 12 minutes when he rose highest to redirect Mbappe’s in-swinging cross into the far corner.
Olivier Giroud sealed the points after the break, using his thigh to guide home a Benjamin Pavard cross from the right after the slightest of deflections from Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.
Giroud’s goal broke a tie with David Trezeguet as France’s third top goalscorer with 35 goals. Only Thierry Henry (51) and Michel Platini (41) have scored more goals with Les Bleus than Giroud who earned his 89th cap.
Mbappe added gloss to the scoreline 12 minutes from time — the Paris Saint-Germain star sliding his shot in at the far post after Antoine Griezmann played him in through the left channel.
Mphoto caption=”France celebrated a deserved victory on Monday.”>
And Griezmann completed the rout six minutes later, coolly chipping Halldorsson after an audacious Mbappe back-heel found him behind the defence.
France, who beat Moldova 4-1 in their opening qualifier, finished the international break with six points from two Group H matches, while Iceland sit in fourth with three points.
“We were very efficient against a very defensive-minded side. It’s a source of great satisfaction,” said France coach Didier Deschamps after the match.
Iceland have now won only one of their last 17 games.
“We knew it would be a tough challenge but their early goal made it even tougher,” said Iceland coach Erik Hamren. “Then when they scored the second we were really in trouble. They’re a top-class team.”
Meanwhile, Turkey emerged as France’s main rivals in the group when they thrashed Moldova 4-0 thanks to a Cenk Tosun double after beating Albania 2-0 last Friday.
