LOSC forward Jonathan Ikoné got his France career off to the perfect start, finding the net as a sub in Les Bleus' 4-1 Euro 2020 qualifying win over Albania at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night.
Saturday, 7 September, 2019
Euro 2020 qualifying Group H, Matchday 5
Stade de France, Paris
France 4 - 1 Albania
Jonathan Ikoné (France forward): "I'll never forget it. Frankly, I couldn't have dreamed of better. The goal? I saw that I was pretty much unmarked so I turned around. Honestly, I wanted to give the assist for Nabil [Fekir] to score, but he gave it back to me. Scoring France is a dream come true."
Didier Deschamps (France coach): "Tonight was extremely positive, first of all for the scoreline, even though it could have been heavier as we created a good dozen chances. We have predispositions in the technical field, to move the ball from one side to the other, in individual risk-taking. My players were firing on all cylinders; they know each other well. The game seemed easy because we did the right things, even though we got a little slack at the end. We constructed high-quality play, with fast passing and technical accuracy, with players capable of breaking through and destabilizing a defense, even if when it's tightly packed. It's rare to make as many successful passes as we did - over 900, I think. We has plenty of verticality. It was a great performance by the whole squad."
