France wins in Cyprus and regains its first place

A strange match. The French Espoirs team traveled to the Cyprus pitch as part of the seventh day of the Euro 2025 Qualifiers this Friday evening. A match which was interrupted after the first quarter of an hour of play due to a power outage. The Bleuets finally won with a score of three goals to zero thanks to goals from Hugo Ekitike and Maghnes Akliouche. France regains its first place in Group H and will have to do what is necessary against Austria next Tuesday to finish first.

The lighting is acting up, Ekitike too

The French Espoirs Team will quickly get their foot on the ball and make their evening opponent run. From the fifth minute of play, Malo Gusto will cross magnificently towards Loum Tchaouna, who surprisingly does not find the target. In the process, Hugo Ekitike will head a ball. It lacks power. A few seconds later, Koutsakos is launched into the depth but stumbles on a return from Jëanuel Belocian, before Guillaume Restes grabs the ball. In the eleventh minute of play, Loum Tchaouna will accelerate on the left and serve Johann Lepenant, whose attempt ends on the Cypriot right post.

The match will subsequently be interrupted due to a lighting failure. As soon as the match resumes, the French selection will open the scoring. Launched on the right side, Hugo Ekitike goes faster than everyone, cuts to the center and finds the net. The pace will then begin to drop, with the French Espoirs Team beginning to manage its advantage. In the 40th minute of play, a cross from Neofytou on the left forced Guillaume Restes to lie down. In the action, Malo Gusto seems to injure the back of his right ankle and will start to worry his staff. The Chelsea full-back, however, managed to hold on until half-time.

Akliouche makes the break, the Bleuets first

Upon returning from the locker room, Hugo Ekitike will find Johann Lepenant with a very nice deflection. The midfielder, however, will miss the target. In the 54th minute of play, Maghnes Akliouche launched Loum Tchaouna on his right side, who saw his cross shot pushed back by the opposing goalkeeper. Immediately, Cyprus will react. Neofytou appears before Guillaume Restes and pushes him to stop. While the pace has dropped again, the French Espoirs Team will score the goal of the break. After a precise cross from Loum Tchaouna, Maghnes Akliouche emerges and sends a shot under the incoming bar. Gérald Baticle’s men have now done the hard part and will be able to calmly manage the end of their match. In the 89th minute of play, Tanguy Kouassi was found on a corner and increased the score. France temporarily regains the lead of its group. Slovenia, tied with the Bleuets, faces Austria this Friday evening (8:30 p.m.) and could put pressure on the latter.