UEFA Nations League action continued across Europe with France earning a vital win over Austria in their reverse fixture while the Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia were among the winners on matchday 5.
Coming into the contest with a real chance of being relegated to the lower group in the Nations League and battling headlines on and off the pitch, France needed to respond against Austria at home.
Spurred on by home support, Kylian Mbappe found the back of the net only after two minutes but his effort was ruled out for offside. Aurelien Tchouameni then had his effort saved by Austria keeper Patrick Pentz as the World Champions continued to look for the goal.
However, their efforts came at a cost of injuries to Jules Kounde and goalkeeper Mike Maignan who had to be replaced before the second half.
Mbappe finally managed to break the deadlock in the 56th minute after combining with Giroud before the AC Milan forward got on the scoresheet himself in the 65th minute to ensure the win.
The win over Austria was the first for France at this year’s Nations League as they climbed to third in Group 1 with five points from as many games.
France will take on Denmark in their next fixture who lost 2-1 to Croatia in their Nations League clash.
The Netherlands continued their brilliant form going with a 2-0 win over Poland in their League A Group 4 encounter while Belgium remained second in the group with a 2-1 win over Wales.
Kazakhstan, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Andorra also won their respective matches.
