(Football news) On Saturday, France continued their unbeaten run in Group B with a spectacular 14-0 thumping of Gibraltar. In a friendly match, the Pirate Ship also triumphed, defeating New Zealand 2.0.
When Greece’s most recent friendly against New Zealand took place at the Georgios Karamas Stadium in front of just over 5,000 spectators, one could have easily been forgiven for thinking that they were still living in the COVID era if they had changed the TV to Friday’s exhibition match.
Giannis Konstantelias’ cross first eluded everyone and nestled into the side of the net, then Georgios Giakoumakis bundled home the insurance goal just before the half-hour mark, as Gus Poyet’s team navigated their task with professionalism to win 2-0 on home soil despite the complete lack of atmosphere.
Before their confrontation with New Zealand, Greece had a mathematical chance to overtake the Netherlands and secure the second and final automatic qualifying spot in Group B. However, after Oranje defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 over the weekend, Poyet’s team was forced to settle for third place.
Nevertheless, having been eliminated from Euro 2012 in the quarterfinals and having made two unsuccessful attempts at qualifying, Greece has already been confirmed as one of the 12 playoff-competing teams as they attempt to end a 12-year banishment from the continent’s main championship.
The 2004 European champions are closing out the year strong, having won three of their past four games across all competitions while only giving up one goal. They haven’t allowed more than one goal to be scored in a home Euro qualifying match since 2019.
But if France’s most recent offensive exhibition of dominance is any indication, their defensive prowess may be rendered insignificant. On Saturday at the Allianz Riviera, Didier Deschamps watched his ruthless team smash Gibraltar for 14, setting a new record for the national team.
France had earlier in Group B beaten the habitual whipping boys 3-0, leaving much to be desired. However, even before Gibraltar reduced their squad to ten players—Ethan Santos’s horrific tackle on Warren Zaire-Emery deserved a straight red card—Los Llanis were already headed for slaughter.
Aside from Santos’ own goal in the third minute, other notable highlights from the evening included Youssouf Fofana, Ousmane Dembele, Marcus Thuram, and Adrien Rabiot all contributing to Nice’s crushing defeat. Highlights included Jonathan Clauss’s thunderbolt, Kingsley Coman and Olivier Giroud’s braces, and Zaire-Emery’s debut goal.
Also read: Portugal set to play Iceland in the Euro Qualifiers
