Dembele gem caps France win over Italy
Ousmane Dembele scored a terrific goal in an impressive display for France as the World Cup contenders defeated Italy 3-1 in a friendly in Nice on Friday.
Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti grabbed the opening goal after eight minutes at the Allianz Riviera, converting a rebound from close range after Kylian Mbappe's volley was saved by Salvatore Sirigu.
N'Golo Kante fired against the post from distance as Sirigu produced a fine fingertip save, but Antoine Griezmann added a second from the penalty spot following a foul on Lucas Hernandez by Rolando Mandragora.
Italy cut the deficit before the break when Leonardo Bonucci alertly followed up after Hugo Lloris failed to deal with a powerful Mario Balotelli free-kick.
Balotelli forced Lloris to save low with his foot within seconds of the restart after half-time, while Dembele rattled the crossbar moments later having burst past a pair of Italy defenders.
But the Barcelona forward sealed victory on 63 minutes, curling a sublime first-time shot into the top corner after Mbappe's searing run was halted on the edge of the area.
Quel but d'@Dembouz !!!! 3-1 #FRAITA pic.twitter.com/pAeVj4qMrr
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 1, 2018
"There are lots of things that pleased me beyond the three goals," France coach Didier Deschamps told French television station TF1.
"It could have been a bigger scoreline. If we had been more efficient we could have been at ease a bit earlier.
"We're not going to get carried away, there's still a second part of our preparation ahead of us."