Paris, May 29 (IANS): The French national football team easily beat Ireland 2-0 in a friendly match, despite the torrential rain that fell on Saint Denis, with goals from Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fekir.
The French team, led by Coach Didier Deschamps, who was determined to give his star striker Antoine Griezmann a rest, played with an attack line formed by Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fekir on Monday, reports Efe.
France had chosen to play against Ireland because their football is similar to what they will find in their debut against Australia in the World Cup.
France dominated from start to finish, driven by a brilliant Mbappe who, paradoxically, was the only one in the attack trident to go without a goal.
With fans in the Stade de France chanting his name, Mbappe, assisted by Djibril Sidibe, was the first to attempt a shot in the third minute but missed the goal.
In the 38th minute, another attempt to score came when Sidibe shot the ball but it bounced against the posts guarded by Collin Doyle.
In the 40th minute Chelsea forward Giroud managed to open the scoring for the French team.
Receiving a corner from Fekir, Giroud attempted to score with a header. Although his shot was initially saved by Doyle, it was followed by another attempt that successfully led to the team's first goal in the match.
Three minutes later, Fekir took advantage from a bad save of the Irish goalkeeper and scored the second goal.
With the field almost impossible to play on due to the rain, the second half ended with less intensity and fewer goal attempts, among which some strong efforts by Mbappe, who did not want to leave the field without a goal.
