The forward clinically dispatched a penalty to gives Les Bleus the lead against Poland…
France’s ace forward Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal of the European championship with a penalty against Poland. The 25-year-old, back in the lineup after being an unused substitute in their last game, clinically dispatched his chance from 12 yards to put his side in front after 56 minutes.
Having sustained a bloody nose in their opening game against Austria, Mbappe sat on the bench for their next game, with head coach Didier Deachamps not risking him for even a minute. But today, in their important clash with the Eagles to win Group D, Mbappe was reinstated back into the XI.
He started the game slowly but picked up the pace soon enough, and tested Poland with two efforts from the left, although both his attempts were saved by Łukasz Skorupski. In the second half, Mbappe sliced another shot wide, much to his chagrin.
It was turning out to be a frustrating outing for him, until Ousmane Dembele won a penalty. The PSG winger was brought down inside the box by Jakob Kiwior, and the referee instantly pointed to the spot. Mbappe, sporting a mask today to protect his bruised nose, stepped up and made no mistake, burying it into the right corner to send Skorupski the wrong way.
With his 23rd shot, Mbappe finally opened his account at the Euros. In the last edition, he went four games without scoring, before drawing another blank against Austria in their first group fixture of Euro 2024.
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France on their way to win Group D
At the time of writing. France are leading Poland by 1-0, whereas Austria are beating the Netherlands 2-1. This puts Les Bleus in prime position to win Group D. They have already qualified for the last-16, but winning the group could help them avoid a tough draw for the next round.
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