Kylian Mbappe set a new scoring record as France stretched their 100 per cent start in European Championship qualifying Group B with a 1-0 win over Greece in Paris on Monday.
The French captain's 55th-minute penalty was his 54th goal of the season and took him clear of Just Fontaine to become the top French scorer in a single club and international campaign.
It was Mbappe's 13th goal in 13 games for France this season, to go with 41 in all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain.
He now has 40 goals in 70 games for his country and needs just one more goal to equal Michel Platini's tally in a France shirt.
But there was an air of fortune about his winner after Odysseas Vlachodimos palmed away his initial penalty only for the referee to spot an infringement and order the kick to be retaken.
Kolo Muani and Jules Kounde also had good chances for France while Greece’s task became harder after Konstantinos Mavropanos was sent off for a foul on Muani in the 69th minute.
France's win in their last outing this season follows their 3-0 defeat of minnows Gibraltar last Friday and leaves them clear on top of qualifying Group B with 12 points from four games.
They have not conceded a goal so far and are six points clear of Greece, albeit having played a game more.
"It has been a very long season for the players. They have been waiting for their holidays but we did what we needed to do to win the match," France coach Didier Deschamps told broadcaster TF1.
"This is a team with less experience than six months ago, but there is plenty of quality."
In the same group, Republic of Ireland took 52 minutes to break through Gibraltar’s defence before goals from Mikey Johnston, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah secured a 3-0 win in Dublin.
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England's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their fifth goal and his hat-trick in a 7-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over North Macedonia at Old Trafford, Manchester, on June 19, 2023. Reuters -
Bukayo Saka of England scores the fourth England goal during the Euro 2024 qualifying Group C match match against North Macedonia at Old Trafford. Getty Images -
Bukayo Saka of England celebrates after scoring the team's fifth goal and his third of the game. Getty Images -
Bukayo Saka of England acknowledges the fans whilst carrying the match ball after scoring a hat-trick. Getty Images -
England's Bukayo Saka shoots to score his third goal, England's fifth. AFP -
Bukayo Saka of England scores his first goal to make it 2-0. EPA -
England's Bukayo Saka controls the ball in the build-up to scoring the fourth goal. AFP -
Harry Kane of England in action. Getty Images -
Harry Kane of England scores the team's seventh goal. Getty Images -
England striker Harry Kane celebrates after scoring their seventh goal from the penalty spot. AFP
In Group C, Ukraine could count themselves lucky to strengthen their hold on second place behind free-scoring England, who brushed aside North Macedonia 7-0.
The Ukrainians laboured against bottom side Malta in Trnava, and it took a fortuitous 72nd-minute penalty from Viktor Tsygankov to eke out a 1-0 win.
Gareth Southgate lauded Bukayo Saka after the England star scored a tremendous treble against North Macedonia and enjoyed one of the best nights of his life.
Having followed up March’s wins against Italy and Ukraine by beating Malta 4-0 on Friday, the side put on a show on Monday as their Euro 2024 qualification cakewalk continued with a 7-0 win.
Harry Kane’s brace was complemented by Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips efforts at Old Trafford, where Saka was the star of the show.
A fierce strike from a tight angle was followed at the start of the second half by a stupendous second, before then quickly wrapping up the first hat-trick of his career.
In Group D, Armenia also had a stroke of fortune as it took an injury-time penalty from Tigran Barseghyan to claim a 2-1 win over Latvia and build on the weekend’s stunning win over Wales in Cardiff.
There was more misery for the Welsh, who had Joe Morrell sent off and fell to a 2-0 defeat to top-placed Turkey, for whom Umut Nayir and Arda Guler scored second-half goals.
Daniel Hakans scored a hat-trick as Group H leaders Finland made it four wins out of five with a comfortable 6-0 win over San Marino.
Slovenia and Denmark shared a 1-1 draw in Ljubljana, meaning Kazakhstan jumped into second place courtesy of Abat Aymbetov’s 88th-minute strike that gave them a shock 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast.
Switzerland lost their 100 per cent record in Group I after they were pegged back by two late goals at home to Romania.
The Swiss looked set to be coasting to a fourth straight win after two first-half goals from Mohamed Amdouni.
But Romania hit back, reducing the deficit through Valentin Mihaila in the 89th minute before the same player struck again to snatch a point two minutes into injury time.
Israel retained their push for a qualifying place after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Andorra while Belarus earned their first points of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Kosovo.
