U-21 Euros: Rennes' Cissé stars as France roll
After taking a 3-0 halftime lead, notably thanks to two fine goals from Rennes' Djaoui Cissé, France's U-21s advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championships in style. With FC Nantes duo Matthis Abline and Nathan Zézé also both on the scoresheet, Ligue 1 McDonald's players did themselves proud and will next play on Sunday.
A strong start
Manager Gérard Baticle named a much-changed eleven for this match, knowing that progress would be secured with only a draw. Despite that, and a against an opponent with no lack of experience, France got off to a strong start. The match's early going was one-way traffic, but eventually the Poles' resistance was broken by Zézé. After the Polish goalkeeper failed to deal with a cross by Lucien Agoumé, the Nantes defender turned the ball in from close range to put his side deservedly ahead.
Not sixty seconds had elapsed when France would double their lead, with Cissé scoring his first of the night. Playing on the break, the Rennes youngster sent an all-but-unstoppable effort into the top corner, scoring for the first time for Les Espoirs. He was at it again just before the half hour, rifling in a shot from range to make it 3-0 and put the match out of reach.
Les Bleuets ont fait un grand pas vers la qualification en marquant à 3 reprises en 30 minutes dans cette première mi-temps ! 🔥
On continue et on va chercher cette qualif' en quart de l'Euro Espoirs 💪#FRAPOL #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/nsQEex9r1q— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 17, 2025
Abline seals the result
While Poland would pull back a goal just after the hour, scoring at a corner, France were in control throughout and Matthis Abline, who proved himself one of the league's top young attackers with nine goals, struck to put the match out of reach. Just as his opponent had found the net at a corner, Abline did the same, sealing what would be a 4-1 win and progress to the knockout rounds.
Speaking post-match, Zézé underscored that for he and his teammates, the chance to right the proverbial ship after a disappointing run of displays in the tournament (including a decade of not qualifying). "(Winning) would mean so much. We take so much pride in wearing this shirt, and we'd love to be able to bring this nation right to the very top, which is where it deserves to be." Up next as Zézé and his teammates look to progress is a quarterfinal date with Denmark on Sunday.
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