France opened their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine, maintaining their strong record in group-stage matches. The win extends Les Bleus’ run to just one defeat in their last 22 qualifiers.
Michael Olise opened the scoring in the 10th minute, converting Bradley Barcola’s assist to net his third international goal. France dominated the first half, creating several chances, but Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin kept the scoreline respectable with a string of saves.
Ukraine came close to an equaliser in the second half, with Illia Zabarnyi hitting the post and Ivan Kalyuzhnyi narrowly missing the target. However, Kylian Mbappe sealed the win in the 82nd minute, latching onto a long ball from Aurelien Tchouameni and finishing clinically.
France controlled the final minutes to secure the win, improving their head-to-head record against Ukraine to seven wins and five draws in 13 matches.
