The Blues had a plethora of scoring chances (nineteen shots in total), but one shot on target was enough for them to secure a narrow (1-0) victory against Greece on Monday at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis ( Seine-Saint-Denis). And again, the penalty in question – called for a dangerous intervention by a defender, the studs on the head of Antoine Griezmann – was initially rejected by goalkeeper Odysséas Vlachodimos.
Few whistles on the Greek surface during four controversial situations in the first period, the referee, the Spaniard Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who officiated the last match of his career, therefore gave the 55And minute a second chance for Kylian Mbappé to convert the sentence. At issue: A Greek player entered the box too early on his first attempt. And this time the Azzurri captain opened his foot to deceive the Greek goalkeeper who had dived again to the right.
The latest bastion of this squad is one of the only ones to evolve into a major European club (in this case Benfica, Portugal) with left flank, Kóstas Tsimíkas (who plays intermittently for Liverpool, England). In the field, ” the difference [de niveau] between us and France it was incredible”recognized the coach of the Greek selection, Gustavo Poyet, former coach of the Girondins de Bordeaux.
Thanks to this victory, the fourth in as many games in 2023, Didier Deschamps’ players consolidate their leadership (12 points against 6 points and one game less for second-placed Greece) of group B of the Euro 2024 qualifiers which will take place in Germany (from 14 June to 14 July 2024). In short, the qualification has not yet been acquired, but the Azzurri have already set foot on the other side of the Rhine.
While Antoine Griezmann finished the game with a headband, recalling the stigma that caused the decisive penalty, Didier Deschamps’ players avoided injury before going on holiday. Facing a team that lacked many things but not aggression, this is the other Italian satisfaction, at the end of a particularly trying 2022-2023 season.
“Sixty games a season is a lot”
League, national cups, European club cups, League of Nations, European qualifiers in selection… In addition to the usual deadlines, a World Cup has been added scheduled for the end of autumn 2022 (FIFA had postponed the competition to this period after the award of the competition to Qatar in 2010, violating its own specifications).
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