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France survive Ireland scare, Netherlands ease past Gibraltar

AFP . Paris
29 Mar 2023 00:00:00 | Update: 28 Mar 2023 22:44:26
France survive Ireland scare, Netherlands ease past Gibraltar
France’s defender Benjamin Pavard (2L) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualification match against Republic of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland on March Monday – AFP Photo

France held on to beat Ireland 1-0 in Dublin on Monday to win their second Euro 2024 qualifier, while the Netherlands eased past Gibraltar 3-0.

Right-back Benjamin Pavard pounced with half an hour remaining at a sold-out Lansdowne Road before two superb Mike Maignan saves in the final two minutes.

With 30 seconds to play in Dublin, AC Milan’s Maignan, who has succeeded former captain Hugo Lloris as Les Bleus’ goalkeeper, tipped over team-mate Jules Kounde’s panicked header.

From the resulting corner Maignan saved the visitors’ skin as he made a similar save from Nathan Collins’ powerful effort. Manchester City centre-back Nathan Ake scored twice in a little over half an hour as the Netherlands eased past 10-men Gibraltar, 200th in the FIFA rankings in Rotterdam.

Atletico Madrid forward Memphis Depay opened the scoring in the first half with a towering header before veteran Liam Walker was shown a red card the other side of the break.

The Netherlands lost in a mismatch with France on Friday in their opening Group B game.

In Group F, Sweden bounced back from a heavy opening defeat to Belgium by hammering Azerbaijan 5-0 in Solna.

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