France's perfect qualifying ended by Greece draw

Published on: 21 November 2023

Greece captain Anastasios Bakasetas was mobbed by his team-mates after his superb left-footed volley pulled them level

France finished Euro 2024 qualifying with seven wins from eight after drawing 2-2 with Greece.

Paris St-Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani fired into the roof of the net to give France the lead in Athens.

But Anastasios Bakasetas equalised for Greece with a 20-yard volley, before Fotis Ioannidis guided home a cross.

That forced boss Didier Deschamps to turn to his bench, with Kylian Mbappe coming on to set Youssouf Fofana up for their equaliser with 16 minutes left.

The visitors, who had already qualified, thought they had found a late winner when Kingsley Coman's deflected cross span towards goal but the referee and video assistant referee decided the ball had not crossed the line.

France, who had only conceded one goal in their first seven qualifying games, finish top of Group B while Greece, who are seeking a place at the European Championship finals for the first time since 2012, will face Kazakhstan in the play-offs on 21 March.

Should they win that game the 2004 champions will then face Georgia or Luxembourg on 26 March for a place in the finals.

Elsewhere in Group B, the Netherlands, who finished second, thrashed Gibraltar 6-0, with Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo rounding off the scoring.

The 24-year-old scored four minutes after coming off the bench as his left-wing cross drifted into the far corner.

Feyenoord's Calvin Stengs scored his first international goals on the way to a hat-trick, while Mats Wieffer and Teun Koopmeiners were also on the scoresheet.

France and the Dutch will find out who they face in the group stages in Germany when the draw takes place on 2 December.

    Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text

Line-upsGreece

Formation 3-5-2

1Vlachodimos2Retsos4Mavropanos17Hatzidiakos15Rota5Bouchalakis6Galanopoulos11Bakasetas22Giannoulis7Masouras8Ioannidis

    1Vlachodimos2RetsosBooked at 40mins4Mavropanos17Hatzidiakos15RotaSubstituted forSaliakasat 85'minutes5BouchalakisBooked at 34mins6GalanopoulosSubstituted forAlexandropoulosat 67'minutes11BakasetasSubstituted forKonstanteliasat 86'minutes22Giannoulis7MasourasSubstituted forPavlidisat 77'minutes8IoannidisBooked at 75minsSubstituted forGonçalves Rodriguesat 77'minutes

Substitutes

    3Koulierakis9Pavlidis10Gonçalves Rodrigues12Paschalakis13Dioudis14Alexandropoulos16Chatzigiovanis18Goutas19Giakoumakis20Konstantelias21Saliakas23Tsingaras

France

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Samba5Koundé17Saliba21Hernández22Hernández19Fofana14Rabiot11Dembélé7Griezmann12Kolo Muani9Giroud

    1Samba5KoundéSubstituted forClaussat 64'minutes17Saliba21HernándezSubstituted forDisasiat 85'minutes22Hernández19FofanaBooked at 55mins14Rabiot11DembéléBooked at 34minsSubstituted forComanat 65'minutes7GriezmannBooked at 90mins12Kolo MuaniSubstituted forMbappéat 64'minutes9GiroudSubstituted forThuramat 70'minutes

Substitutes

    2Clauss3Disasi4Upamecano6Thuram10Mbappé13Todibo15Thuram16Maignan18Kamara20Coman23Areola

Referee:Daniel SiebertMatch StatsHome TeamGreeceAway TeamFrancePossessionHome33%Away67%ShotsHome8Away15Shots on TargetHome2Away7CornersHome2Away9FoulsHome5Away11Live Text Post update

Match ends, Greece 2, France 2.

90'+6'Full Time

Second Half ends, Greece 2, France 2.

90'+5'Post update

Corner, France. Conceded by Odysseas Vlachodimos.

90'+5'Post update

Attempt saved. Kylian Mbappé (France) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcus Thuram with a headed pass.

90'+3'Post update

Corner, France. Conceded by Konstantinos Mavropanos.

90'+2'Booking

Antoine Griezmann (France) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

90'+1'Post update

Foul by Antoine Griezmann (France).

90'+1'Post update

Giannis Konstantelias (Greece) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

89'Post update

Kylian Mbappé (France) wins a free kick on the left wing.

89'Post update

Foul by Manolis Saliakas (Greece).

86'Post update

Foul by Adrien Rabiot (France).

86'Post update

Sotiris Alexandropoulos (Greece) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

86'Substitution

Substitution, Greece. Giannis Konstantelias replaces Anastasios Bakasetas.

85'Substitution

Substitution, Greece. Manolis Saliakas replaces Lazaros Rota.

85'Substitution

Substitution, France. Axel Disasi replaces Lucas Hernández.

82'Post update

Attempt missed. Kylian Mbappé (France) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Adrien Rabiot with a cross.

82'Post update

Attempt blocked. William Saliba (France) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jonathan Clauss with a cross.

81'Post update

Corner, France. Conceded by Pantelis Hatzidiakos.

81'Post update

Offside, Greece. Sotiris Alexandropoulos tries a through ball, but Vangelis Pavlidis is caught offside.

77'Substitution

Substitution, Greece. Vangelis Pavlidis replaces Giorgos Masouras.

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Source: bbc.com

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