France defeated the Republic of Ireland in Dublin with a superb second-half goal from Benjamin Pavard in their Euro 2024 qualifying match.
Despite holding the French in the first half, the Republic fell behind five minutes after the restart when Pavard intercepted a Josh Cullen pass and scored.
Although the Republic of Ireland put the World Cup finalists under severe pressure late in the game, they were unable to score an equalizer, as Mike Maignan made a stunning save to deny Nathan Collins.
Meanwhile, in another Euro 2024 qualifier, Nathan Ake scored twice as the Netherlands secured their first win under Ronald Koeman’s second spell in charge.
The Dutch dominated Gibraltar, with all 51 shots in the game and 86% possession.
Gibraltar’s Liam Walker was sent off in the 51st minute for a bad challenge on Dutch debutant Mats Wieffer.
Gibraltar’s Lee Casciaro, who is 41 years and 179 days old, extended his record as the oldest player to feature in European Championship qualification.
Additionally, the team gave an international debut to Niels Hartman, a Dutch-born student at Loughborough University who plays for their football team.