ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra — France eased to a 4-0 win away to minnows Andorra on Tuesday to return to the top of Euro 2020 qualifying Group H after their recent shock defeat to Turkey.
Kylian Mbappe put the World Cup holders in charge with a cool chipped finish in the 11th minute which was also the 20-year-old's 100th career goal.
Wissam Ben Yedder and then Florian Thauvin further stretched their lead before halftime with the help of some scrappy goalkeeping from Andorra's Josep Gomes, each scoring for the first time for their country.
Defender Kurt Zouma struck the fourth goal on the hour mark, also opening his account for France, heading towards goal from a corner then pouncing on the rebound to bundle the ball into the net after his first effort was parried by Gomes.
The victory eased the pain of last week's 2-0 reverse to Turkey and took France to the top of Group H on goal difference, locked on nine points with second-placed Turkey and third-placed Iceland.
Iceland beat Turkey 2-1 at home while Albania beat Moldova 2-0 at home to go fourth on six points, while Andorra remain stuck to the bottom of the group without a single point.
Iceland's game with Turkey took place amid tensions between the two nations after the visiting side complained of being made to wait for three hours at passport control a day earlier at Keflavik airport and being subjected to bag searches.
A man, apparently as a joke, also approached the players at arrivals and thrust a dish-scouring brush in their faces, mimicking the TV microphones around him, prompting Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman to complain about the "unacceptable disrespect" the team had been shown.
Defender Ragnar Sigurdsson gave Iceland the lead in the 21st minute with a header from close range following a corner and struck again 11 minutes later, again heading home following a well-worked corner routine.
Turkey responded with a headed goal of their own from a corner by Dorukhan Tokoz shortly before halftime but could not find an equalizer and saw their perfect start to qualifying halted.
Turkey coach Senol Gunes did not answer questions about the team's treatment at the airport after the game but blamed his side's performance on fatigue. — Reuters
