Thierry Henry’s France Espoirs team snatched a victory in Bosnia in added time of the match (2-1) on Friday. At the final whistle, the coach was especially furious at the aggressiveness of the opposing players.
A month after a first victory in the qualifiers for the next Euro Espoirs (4-0 against Slovenia), Thierry Henry’s Bleuets did not come far from a poor performance on the field of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Friday in Sarajevo. The French selection snatched victory in added time of the game, thanks to a goal from Arnaud Kalimuendo on a cross from Mathys Tel (92nd).
😍 At the end of the suspense Arnaud Kalimuendo takes a cross from Mathys Tel! Relief for the Bleuets who take the advantage in stoppage time#lequipeFOOT pic.twitter.com/aAUrejum2o
— the L’Équipe channel (@lachainelequipe) October 13, 2023
In the wake of the final whistle, the 98 world champion confided his frustration to the L’Equipe channel: “ annoyed because I felt that the opposing team, from time to time… notably once here, two feet off the number 9 behind our player’s back, and we took a red out of two yellows, maybe deserved. But I found that, at times, it was borderline aggressive, I can understand, we remained calm “. Désiré Doué actually saw red after a tackle from behind in the 96th minute.
It must be said that, faced with the domination of the French visitors, the Bosnians held their ground for a long time. The locals even opened the scoring to everyone’s surprise in the middle of the first period, through Admir Bristric (28th), after a counter-attack and a poor dismissal from the French goalkeeper, Guillaume Restes.
Rayan Cherki, on a cross from Quentin Merlin, quickly equalized (32nd), but the Bleuets were unable to create any big chances afterwards. Clumsy Elye Wahi and Bradley Barcola gave way in the second half, leaving Tel and Kalimuendo to save the team from a frustrating draw.
