After two consecutive draws last week, France, reigning world champions, met again with the victory, 2-0 against Finland, in a sixth day of the European qualification for Qatar-2022 in which the triplets of Memphis Depay and Erling Haaland in the victories of the Netherlands and Norway.
With this result, France consolidates its first place – the only one that qualifies directly for the World Cup – in European group D with 12 points, 7 more than its rival on Tuesday and Ukraine.
At the Groupama Stadium, on the outskirts of Lyon, 80 kilometers from his native Mâcon, Griezmann recovered his best version, the one that led France to the world title in 2018, scoring both goals for his team (25 and 53).
The midfielder, who in this window of international matches closed his return to Atlético after two years at Barça, retaliated for two decaffeinated games against Bosnia (1-1) and Ukraine (1-1) that had raised questions about his leadership in the Bleus.
With this double, the 30-year-old (98 caps) scored 41 goals for legend Michel Platini. Ahead are Olivier Giroud – out of this call – with 46 and the historical top scorer Thierry Henry, who reached 51.
In group G, the Netherlands and Norway lead the key with 13 points each, after respectively thrashing Turkey (6-1), which is third with 11 units, and the weak Gibraltar (5-1).
The protagonists in these victories were the two stars of these teams, Memphis Depay and Erling Haaland, authors of a triplet each.
Portugal, without their star Cristiano Ronaldo, sanctioned for accumulating cautions, resolved their visit to Azerbaijan with a comfortable 3-0 win, with goals from Bernardo Silva (26), André Silva (31) and Diego Jota (75).
With 13 points, Portugal leads group A alone, benefiting from the draw between Serbia (11 points) in Ireland.
In Group F, Denmark took a giant step toward qualification by beating Israel 5-0 and maintaining their full 18 points in six games.
Finally, Croatia and Russia lead group H with 13 points after beating Slovenia (3-0) and Malta (2-0) on Tuesday, respectively. AFP (HN)
– Results
. GROUP A
Azerbaijan 0 -3 Portugal
Ireland 1 – 1 Serbia
. GROUP D
France 2 – 0 Finland 0
Bosnia 2 -2 Kazakhstan
. GROUP F
Denmark 5- 0 Israel
Austria 0 – 1 Scotland
Faroe Islands 2 – 1 Moldova
. GROUP G
Netherlands 6 – 1 Turkey
Norway 5 – 1 Gibraltar
Montenegro 0 – 0 Latvia 0
. GROUP H
Russia 2 – 0 Malta
Slovakia 2 – 0 Cyprus 0
Croatia 3 – 0 Slovenia 0.