In difficulty since the World Cup, the defender took advantage of his return to Lille and his position in the center to score a memorable double during the big victory for the Blues (4-1) on Tuesday.
Four days after validating its ticket for Euro 2024, the France team closed the penultimate meeting of the year with a new success, against Scotland (4-1) in a friendly, Tuesday 17 october. She took the opportunity to find an unexpected scorer in the person of Benjamin Pavard. The defender, who played his first match in his favorite position with the Blues, in the center, scored twice.
Thanks to two headers, he allowed his team to quickly equalize then take control (16th, 25th). It had been ten years since a defender had scored a double for the national team, since Mamadou Sakho in the return play-off against Ukraine in 2013. Like a rebirth for the man who had lost his starting place during the last Cup of the world. The return to the land of his beginnings also allowed him to add a particular flavor to this evening, which he ended with the captain’s armband. The Pierre-Mauroy stadium did not shy away from its pleasure and even demanded that the ex-Lille take the penalty that Kylian Mbappé converted just before the break (41st).
The context did not dampen the mood
Behind, Kingsley Coman added to the tally by scoring a fourth goal, which allowed him to end three years of drought in the French team (71st). An eternity for an offensive player. The Scottish opening score, as quick as it was embarrassing, with Eduardo Camavinga playing the role of decisive passer for his opponent Billy Gilmour (11th), will remain anecdotal. There was at least one class of difference between the two selections, certainly both qualified for Euro 2024. The France team only had to decide to accelerate to turn the match on the right side.
The day after the deadly attack in Brussels and four days after the attack in Arras, two cities located less than 100 kilometers away, football still took over. The atmosphere remained family and friendly. “We are not going to stop living. That would be letting them win”, said a father. The fear, present among some, did not prevent the evening from taking a more classic, even cliché, turn. The drunken Scots in kilts and the little worshipers of Kylian Mbappé were, as expected, the most identifiable in the crowd, despite the reinforcement of security (which also delayed the kick-off by ten minutes).
We will have to wait a little over a month to find the France team on a football field. The Blues still have two qualifying matches for Euro 2024 to play, against Gibraltar (November 18) and against Greece (November 21), with one last mission to accomplish: finish among the top five to be among the top seeds in the Euro draw.