France U21: Désiré Doué on target in draw against Slovenia (1-1)

France's Under 21 side is one that features a number of Ligue 1 talents, and they kicked off a new era under new manager Gérald Baticle with a 1-1 draw against Slovenia on Friday evening in a 2025 UEFA Under-21 Euros qualifier.

Baticle succeeded Thierry Henry as France U21 manager, after the former Arsenal striker  resigned from his post, citing personal reasons following a second-place finish at the Olympic Games. Baticle was Henry’s first assistant coach and reportedly advised the French FA to hand Baticle the hot seat.

Without the experienced heads of the over 23s at Olympics, Baticle's XI featured a lot of familiar faces from Ligue 1 including Désiré Doué (PSG), Dilane Bakwa (Strasbourg), Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Quentin Merlin (Marseille), and Guillaume Restes (Toulouse FC).

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Désiré Doué opened the scoring with a quality finish at the near post after being teed up by Quentin Merlin (54'). But it was bad news for Doué, who had to come off near the end of the match with an ankle injury. Earlier in the match the away side opened the scoring through Tio Cipot, where France then initially struggled in their opening stages at Angers' Stade Raymond Kopa (37'). With the draw, it takes Les Bleuet's tally to 10 points in qualifying Group H behind Austria (11 points) and Slovenia (13 points).

WATCH: Désiré Doué's fine finish

It makes France's U21 clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina a vital match-up as Baticle's side look to finish in the top two by the end of the qualifying phase in October. Le Mans' Stade Marie Marvingt will be the venue tomorrow night in France's second home game to try and clinch another three points and edge closer to the UEFA U21 European Championships in 2025.

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