Match report
No word from Stephen Kenny on Viaplay, but our report will be up soon. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
The exceptional Chiedozie Ogbene talks to Viaplay Sport. “There are a lot of positives to take from today … we had a lot of chances to get a point … I’m just devastated for the guys … we gave everything out there … we trained to win this game and it was unfortunate we didn’t get a result … we know what kind of qualities they possessed, we all made sacrifices … we all worked really hard … we were unfortunate to give away such a goal … beaten by a spectacular shot from long distance, what can you do? … we gave a good account of ourselves … we matched one of the best teams in the world … the future is bright … we’re very positive … we hope we can rectify it in the away game.”
The other game in Group B finished Netherlands 3-0 Gibraltar. Nathan Ake added to Memphis Depay’s first-half strike with goals in the 50th and 82nd minute.
When the sting of defeat subsides, Ireland will take heart from that performance against the number-three side in the world. France were the better side over the piece, but could only break through with a Benjamin Pavard screamer that came from an unforced mistake, and Mike Maignan needed to claw Nathan Collins’ header out of the top bin to deny Ireland a late, late equaliser. France deserved their win, but only just, and a resilient, competitive Irish team very nearly denied them all three points. Plenty for Stephen Kenny to build on, not least the display of Chiedozie Ogbene, who gave Theo Hernandez a torrid time all evening. Group B promises to be a world of fun.
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FULL TIME: Republic of Ireland 0-1 France
Ireland press forward in the desperate style, but France hold firm. The whistle goes. France relieved, Ireland frustrated. The underdogs played extremely well, but Benjamin Pavard’s superstrike – capitalising on Josh Cullen’s mistake – was the difference. The small margins of professional sport.
90 min +2: Kolo Muani makes way for Marcus Thuram.
90 min +1: Hernandez makes a hash of dealing with a long 1980s style punt down the middle. He nearly slices wildly out for a goal kick, but Maignan claims on the byline. Only just, though. Inches in that, and France get the benefit of the decision.
90 min: Egan then goes into the book for skittling Tchouameni as he attempts to get to the rebound. There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Ogbene wins a corner down the right. Cullen curls it in. A header crashes towards goal! It’s from a disoriented Kounde! Maignan makes an outstanding save, tipping over. Then from the second corner, an even better save! Cullen hits long. Collins rises and plants a header towards the top left. It’s heading in, but Maignan extends fully to claw it out of the corner! Wow!
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87 min: Konate strides down the middle only to be tugged back by Idah, who goes into the book. From the resulting free kick, Camavinga pings a long pass down the inside-left channel for Mbappe, who attempts a spectacular volley from the edge of the box. The ball just about stays inside the stadium. Mbappe smiles ruefully.
86 min: Obafemi comes on for Molumby.
85 min: Ogbene crosses from the right. The ball slaps Hernandez on his elbow, but it was stuck right by his body and it’s not a penalty. Browne then whistles a diagonal right-to-left shot through a crowded box and wide left. Any deflection and that was surely pinballing in!
84 min: Idah drives down the left before sliding a clever diagonal pass infield for McClean, who zips into the French box at full tilt. His powerful shot is deflected wide left of the goal. Nothing comes of the resulting corner, but the crowd sense there’s something here for Ireland. A huge roar!
82 min: The livewire Ogbene makes a nuisance of himself down the inside-right channel, the ball breaking to Molumby who cracks a shot towards the near post. It’s deflected out for a corner, from which nothing comes, but that was fine work by Ireland’s two best performers this evening.
81 min: A double change for France now. Pavard and Rabiot make way for Kounde and Tchouameni.
79 min: Before the resulting free kick, Ireland make a triple change, replacing O’Shea, Doherty and Knight with Browne, McClean and Johnson. Nothing comes of the set piece.
77 min: An Irish attack breaks down. Rabiot strides down the middle, rolling towards Diaby to his right. Diaby then slides Kolo Muani into the box. He’s one on one, but shoots timidly. Ireland look to counter, but Molumby carelessly loses control then fouls Camavinga to earn himself a booking. That should have been 0-2.
75 min: Rabiot is afforded way too much time and space 25 yards from Ireland’s goal. He pearls a low drive towards the bottom-right corner. Bazunu makes his second full-length save of the match. Fine strike with goalkeeping to match.
73 min: It’s all gone a bit scrappy. On the touchline, Didier Deschamps looks a little concerned and issues some tactical advice. Well, he’s shouting and waving his arms around, that much we know.
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71 min: Speaking of VAR, a replay shows Molumby taking a handful of Mbappe’s shirt in the penalty box back there. Mbappe then went down preposterously easily, but you’ve seen penalties given for less. That wasn’t the smartest idea of Molumby’s.
69 min: Rabiot robs Knight 30 yards from the Ireland goal and shuttles the ball across to Diaby, who cuts in from the right and curls powerfully towards the bottom left. Bazunu parries well and Ireland mop up the mess. A fair chance VAR might have shown an interest in Rabiot’s challenge had that gone in.
68 min: Molumby nearly releases Knight down the inside-right channel with a clever pass. Just a bit too much weight on it. Earlier in the move, Doherty slid in late on Konate, and was fortunate that the referee saw nothing in it. On a booking, he'll want to be more careful.
66 min: The free kick’s sent towards Mbappe, who tumbles in the box and wants a penalty kick for a shirt tug. Neither referee nor VAR shows any interest in awarding one.
65 min: Doherty flips Kolo Muani into the air, just to the right of the Ireland D. A free kick and a booking. Before the free kick can be taken, France replace Giroud with Diaby, then Ireland swap out Ferguson for Idah.
63 min: Hernandez is sent scampering down the left by Upamecano. He loops a cross towards Griezmann, just to the right of the D. Griezmann has time to take the ball down and shoot, but opts to head towards Kolo Muani and Mbappe in the middle of a crowded box instead. Wrong choice. Ireland clear.
61 min: Ferguson seems to get the better of Konate under a high ball, the defender slipping, the striker preparing to break into the box. But the whistle goes generously to get the France defender out of bother.
60 min: The home fans are still giving it plenty, pushing their team on in search of an equaliser. A great atmosphere at the Aviva tonight. “Pavard doesn’t score many goals for the national team, but when he does, they linger in the memory,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think everyone reading this can recall his first goal, against Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, and his second, a superb volley against Sweden in 2020, was a beauty too. This one is a fitting third.”
58 min: … so having said that, the ever-troublesome Ogbene bursts down the right, sashays infield, then rolls across for Knight, who slaps a shot into Griezmann. Then there’s some bagatelle, and the ball nearly breaks down the middle for Ferguson. But out comes Maignan to smother, and the young striker would have been offside anyway.
57 min: France have more of a spring in their step now, a dip in their hip and a glide in their stride. First to everything right now.
55 min: Cullen, culpable for the goal, clears the corner. Such a shame about the error, because otherwise he’s been impressive this evening. The slim margins when you’re playing one of the best teams in the world, huh.
54 min: Griezmann takes, and looks to have curled over the wall and towards the top right. That’s heading in, but somehow Ferguson rises from the wall at the very last second to eyebrow it out for a corner.
53 min: Rabiot finds Giroud at the right-hand edge of the Ireland D. He’s clattered from behind by Egan, and this is a free kick in a very dangerous position. Griezmann and Mbappe stand over it, all eyes lit up.
52 min: Knight attempts to reply immediately, speculating from distance. The ball’s deflected out for a corner, from which nothing comes … but that’s a spirited response to the hammer blow of the goal.
GOAL! Republic of Ireland 0-1 France (Pavard 50)
Ireland have been so disciplined, but one simple mistake proves costly. Cullen is on the edge of his own D. He passes to the left for Knight, but Pavard has read the poorly delivered ball. He intercepts, takes a touch, and fires an unstoppable riser towards the top left, off the underside of the bar, and in. Bazunu had no chance whatsoever! What a strike.
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49 min: Cullen’s delivery is not great and cleared by first man Rabiot.
48 min: Ogbene has caused Hernandez problems all match down the right wing, and once again he draws a clumsy foul from his opponent. Everyone piles info the French box. Cullen to swing it in.
46 min: Molumby and Griezmann slide in to complete for a loose ball. Neither looked particularly in control, so it’s just as well that the referee waves play on, and no significant contact was made.
Ireland get the second half underway. No changes.
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In the other match in Group C, the Netherlands are leading Gibraltar 1-0 at the break. Memphis Depay with the only goal on 23 minutes.
HALF TIME: Republic of Ireland 0-0 France
No added time. Off everyone trots. Mbappe and Coleman take turns to moan to the referee, but on balance it’ll be Ireland who are happier with the first 45.
44 min: Rabiot attempts to find Hernandez down the left with a forensic pass. Goal kick.
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42 min: The free kick is swung into the mixer, and pings out for a corner on the right. That leads to a corner on the left, and it’s swung in dangerously by Cullen. Maignan seems frozen on the spot, and it’s down to Pavard to head clear from a crowded six-yard box. A fine couple of minutes of pressure from Ireland.
40 min: For the second time tonight, Ogbene gets the better of Hernandez down the right and draws a foul. Cullen swings in a free kick that evades everyone until it finds O’Shea on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. O’Shea shapes to shoot but it block-tackled fairly by Kolo Muani, who attempts to counter, only to clank into Molumby and win another free kick, this time out on the left.
38 min: Pavard is sent scampering down the right wing. He cuts back a cross for Griezmann, rushing in at the near post. Griezmann flashes a header intended for the top right wide of the target. Had it been on, Bazunu wasn’t getting to it.
36 min: Mbappe wedges a pass down the inside left and nearly releases Griezmann into the box. Molumby, who has been excellent so far, once again reads the danger and clears.
34 min: Some calm Irish possession in the midfield brings one or two olés from the crowd. Any old excuse…
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32 min: Hernandez shoots from an ambitious range. The ball pings off Griezmann, sending Bazunu scrambling to ensure it doesn’t squeak into the bottom-left corner. Turns out the keeper doesn’t need to intervene and it bobbles wide. Goal kick. Hernandez waves his arm in frustration, the first sign that Ireland’s determination is beginning to irk these purists.
30 min: Molumby intercepts a lazy one-two attempt between Mbappe and Hernandez, and tears off down the right wing. He very nearly gets the better of Camavinga, but just as it looks like he’ll bustle past, he’s denied by a sensational hook tackle, then tugs the France midfielder’s shirt. A fun battle, that.
29 min: A reminder that France were 3-0 up at this point against the Netherlands.
27 min: Doherty’s determination down the left wins Ireland’s first corner of the game. Nothing comes of the set piece, but on balance Ireland will be happy with the way this is going so far. They’ve held on at the back, and looked dangerous a couple of times on the counter.
25 min: Mbappe turns on the jets and wins a corner off Coleman down the left. Griezmann swings it into the mixer. Giroud rises above Egan and plants a header towards the top right. The ball smacks off the unsuspecting Coleman’s head, an effective if unwitting block, then pinballs around before Bazunu gathers. Ireland breathe again.
23 min: Yep, here’s the first yellow card of the evening, and it goes to Pavard, who let Ferguson spin him with absurd ease. With Ireland preparing to launch a counter, Pavard was forced to take one for the team.
21 min: Mbappe nearly breaks through the Ireland back line with an outrageous shimmy down the inside-left channel, but the door is closed quickly enough and he’s forced to pass back to Griezmann, who can’t get a cross in. Ireland are standing firm.
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20 min: Kolo Muani allows himself to be dispossessed by the busy Doherty, who cuts infield from the left. Kolo Muani deliberately clips his heel, and becomes the second player to fortunately escape with just a lecture. Both he and Cullen should really be in the book. Next one’s a yellow, you suspect.
18 min: The free kick is effectively a corner, so near the flag is it. Cullen hoicks it in fairly aimlessly, and it’s an easy clearance for Kolo Muani.
17 min: Ogbene chases after a speculative pass down the right. Hernandez foolishly shoves him in the back – he was going nowhere – and it’s a free kick. A chance to load the French box.
16 min: Hernandez crosses from the left. Giroud can’t quite control the dropping ball. It breaks to Mbappe, who needs to sort his feet out before shooting. That allows Egan to come out and block, and the ball balloons into the arms of Bazunu.
14 min: Kolo Muani turns on the jets down the right, skins Doherty, reaches the byline, and crosses for Mbappe. The France captain, on the penalty spot, shapes to volley like Zidane. Just as everyone prepares to witness a goal for the ages, Molumby stretches to head clear at the very last possible nanosecond. Great football all round.
12 min: Mbappe crosses from the left. Egan does well to head clear under pressure from Giroud. France are beginning to show in attack now. It didn’t take them long to warm up.
11 min: Cullen comes sliding cynically into the back of an in-flight Kolo Muani, who was preparing to make good ground down the right. The referee opts for the last-chance-saloon lecture rather than the booking. Cullen can count himself extremely lucky there.
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9 min: I should have kept quiet about that. Camavinga’s long pass drops to Kolo Muani on the edge of the Irish area. He attempts to round Bazunu on the left, and nearly manages it, but is pushed too wide and attempts to set up Giroud with a cute backheel. Ireland swarm, block and clear. So close to the opener.
7 min: This is an impressively confident start by Ireland. France were about to go two up at this point against the Netherlands, but have done nothing so far tonight.
5 min: Ferguson makes his presence felt down the inside-left channel and nearly releases Ogbene on the overlap with a reverse flick. Not quite. Then he sends Ogbene into space down the right. Hernandez does just enough to stop his opponent bursting into the box. Ferguson is a player who things happen around. He’s 18!
3 min: Coleman, hugging the right touchline, tries to release Ferguson down the middle with a diagonal raker. There’s too much juice on the ball and Upamecano is able to shepherd it back to Maignan in the France goal.
2 min: France spend the first 60-odd seconds stroking the ball around. Plenty of pantomime booing. That switches to cheers when Ogbene strips Mbappe of possession in the midfield and wins a free kick. The home fans are up for this all right.
France get the ball rolling. They’re playing in white shirts; only the tracksuit tops and shorts are blue today.
The teams are out! Expectation crackles around Lansdowne Road as the players take to the field, Seamus Coleman leading out his men in green, Kylian Mbappé at the head of a long blue line, Antoine Griezmann adding a punkish dash of pink. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
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Pre-match mailbag. “To paraphrase Shrewsbury Town super fan Derek Smalls, when you have fire and ice what you end up with is lukewarm water. I’m not sure it will be enough to stop Mbappe” – Artie Fufkin Niall Mullen
“A lot of Ireland supporters are decidedly pro-Kenny or anti-Kenny, but I’m still undecided. There is something unusual about his expansive, adventurous style of football - namely that, for whatever reason, it seems to work best against the better teams, like Portugal away (when Ronaldo punished us with two late goals, but we were otherwise superb), but we can struggle badly against the weaker teams (see Luxembourg at home - shudder). Here’s hoping we give France a game. If - and it’s a colossal if - we’re still in the game on the hour mark, expect to see a huge roar when James McClean comes on and gets his customary booking within 60 seconds” – Sean Dowling
“I imagine a lot of people are predicting a walkover for France tonight. Even when they are are having problems against Ireland, they generally find a way through. You have to hand it to them” – Chris Brock
Republic of Ireland make six changes to the starting XI named for the 3-2 friendly win over Latvia on Friday evening. Gavin Bazunu, John Egan, Josh Cullen, Jason Knight, Chiedozie Ogbene and captain Seamus Coleman replace Caoimhin Kelleher, Andrew Omobamidele, Alan Browne, Michael Obafemi and William Smallbone, who drop to the bench, and Callum O’Dowda, who is injured.
France make three changes to the XI that started the 4-0 Group B rout of the Netherlands last week. Benjamin Pavard, Eduardo Camavinga and Olivier Giroud replace Jules Koundé, Aurélien Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman, who all drop to the bench.
The teams
Republic of Ireland: Bazunu, Collins, Egan, O’Shea, Coleman, Molumby, Cullen, Doherty, Knight, Ogbene, Ferguson.
Subs: Kelleher, Travers, Omobamidele, Browne, Obafemi, Idah, McClean, Hendrick, Sykes, McGrath, Smallbone, Johnson.
France: Maignan, Pavard, Konate, Upamecano, Hernandez, Camavinga, Griezmann, Rabiot, Kolo Muani, Mbappe, Giroud.
Subs: Samba, Areola, Disasi, Koundé, Fofana, Tchouameni, M Thuram, Veretout, Todibo, K Thuram, Diaby, Coman.
Referee: Artur Dias (Portugal).
STARTING XI | Ireland v France
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 27, 2023
Captain Seamus Coleman comes into the side whilst there are also starts for Egan, Cullen, Knight & Ogbene for the first @EURO2024 qualifier of the campaign 🇮🇪
Get into the ground early. Be loud, be proud 💚 pic.twitter.com/dKTFZk0Mo6
Notre 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼' 𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲́𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 face à la République d'Irlande ⚔️
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 27, 2023
Coup d'envoi à 20h45 sur @TF1 !
🇮🇪🇫🇷 | #IRLFRA | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/8CGjBEXmdY
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Preamble
Given that France came within a penalty shootout of retaining the World Cup, are favourites to win Euro 2024, and on Friday night stuck four past the Netherlands, it’s fair to say the Republic of Ireland have a job on their hands tonight. “I think we’ll show - and we’ll need to show - fire and ice,” says Stephen Kenny, channelling his inner Robert Frost. All together now!
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
The elemental battle begins at 7.45pm BST. It’s on!
