'Les Bleus' set a new record margin of victory in European qualifying and a national record in Nice. Ethan Santos' own goal and Marcus Thuram had already opened the floodgates before 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery scored.

That was Zaire-Emery's last contribution as the PSG midfielder was forced off with an ankle injury but a red card for Santos after just 18 minutes allowed the World Cup finalists to run amok.

Mbappe's penalty made it 4-0 and Jonathan Clauss, Kingsley Coman and Youssouf Fofana all scored before half-time. Adrien Rabiot, Coman again and Ousmane Dembele kept the score ticking over before Mbappe struck twice to seal his hat-trick in style.

The France captain lobbed Dayle Coleing from just inside the Gibraltar half to register his 300th career goal aged just 24. Olivier Giroud then came off the bench to grab the final two goals and ensure the history books were re-written.

But the scoreline will raise fresh questions over the need for such clashes between giants and minnows in a congested fixture calendar. "We did everything to make this score happen. That is the ambition that there is in this team," said France boss Didier Deschamps.

November 18, 2023

Ethan Santos

Achievements