By Victor Kanayo
Both France and Portugal at the weekend secured their places in the 2024 edition of the UEFA European Championship after beating Netherlands and Slovakia respectively.
For the French side, it was PSG forward Kylian Mbappe who netted a brace in a 2-1 victory against their opponent.
Mbappe Effect
The French striker sent the ball curling into the net with a perfect strike from outside the box.
The goal came early in the second half and doubled Les Bleus’ lead after Mbappe had opened the scoring early on.
Netherlands went on to score late in the game through Quilindschy Hartman.
In his latest performance, Mbappe became fourth highest goalscorer after Oliver Giroud, Thierry Henry and Antonio Griezmann.
The French team will now take on Scotland in a friendly on October 17.
Portugal Passage, Ronaldo Brace
It was Cristiano Ronaldo who now plays for Al Nassr, a Saudi Arabia club that netted twice as Roberto Martinez’s side beat Slovakia 3-2.
In all, the Portuguese side so far played Seven matches, won seven, with 27 goals, conceding two to guarantee their qualification.
Historic Perspective
In the past, Portugal have struggled to look convincing in qualifiers, both for the Euros and the World Cup but this time around they have been really efficient under Roberto Martinez.
In Euro 2008 qualifying, Portugal finished second in the group.
For Euro 2012, again they finished second in the group and in their most recent Euro qualifying campaign for Euro 2020, they again finished second, but they have made all the difference this term.
