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France wrapped up a fine qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a routine 2-0 victory over Finland in Helsinki in their final group fixture.
Second-half goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe helped Les Blues break down a stern home side. Finland's loss meant they finished third and missed out on a play-off spot.
The Eagle-Owls produced a resolute display in defense in the opening stanza to frustrate their mighty visitors. But France's superior quality eventually shone through. There was no repeat of Finland's shock victory from last year, when they stunned France 2-0 in an international friendly in Paris.
The reigning world champions, meanwhile, can look forward to starting their preparations for their title defense. They will play a series of friendlies leading up to the main-event in November next year.
Here are the major talking points from the match:
#5 France take their foot off the gas
Following their historic victory over Kazakhstan, this was somewhat expected. Didier Deschamps opted to make a few changes to his line-up by giving young players a chance in what was essentially a dead-rubber for the team.
It, however, took the sting out of their performance, with Les Blues struggling to break down a stoic Finnish defense. Mbappe also fluffed his lines and things didn't seem to be going France's way.
Some changes were needed and Deschamps threw on Benzema to bolster their attacking firepower. It was a move which yielded rich dividends just 10 minutes later with the Real Madrid ace breaking the deadlock.
#4 Ukraine beat Finland to the play-off spot
Finland came into the match in second place in Group D, knowing they had to equal or better Ukraine's result from the other game to move to the play-off round.
Luck was on their side before the end of the opening half as the Eagle-Owls managed to keep France at bay. Elsewhere, Ukraine were also drawing against Bosnia.
However, second-half goals from Benzema and Mbappe put the Finnish to the sword. Meanwhile, Ukraine also managed to strike twice in their game and usurp Finland to make it to the play-off round.
#3 Moussa Diaby misses chance to impress
Moussa Diaby had a lively cameo in France's victory over Kazakhstan, wherein he bagged an assist and looked solid overall. Following that performance, Didier Deschamps opted to reward the youngster with a place in the starting XI tonight.
But Diaby looked far from replicating that performance or making a strong case to nail down a starting berth. The winger cut an isolated figure in attack, struggling to make an impact for France against Finland's stoic defense.
In nearly an hour-long action, Diaby completed only 16 passes and mustered just one shot on target. That, too, was a tame effort right at Lukas Hradecky and was symbolic of the Leverkusen man's ineffectiveness on the night.
#2 Teemu Pukki's campaign ends on a whimper
Finland's talismanic striker Teemu Pukki was among the leading scorers in the qualifiers entering the final month of the campaign, having netted six times.
However, the Norwich City ace failed to add a single goal to his tally this month, drawing a blank in back-to-back games against Bosnia and now France. Pukki had the opportunity to score from the spot on Saturday but missed it while he was largely ineffective last night (November 16).
However, for somebody operating in a squad like this, Pukki's is still an impressive tally. He finished with more goals than Mbappe and Benzema, and level with Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Pukki's heroics were ultimately fruitless as the Huuhkajat failed to get into the play-offs. But without him, their campaign would've very likely been far worse.
#1 Mbappe's quality comes to the fore again
This wasn't a good performance from Kylian Mbappe. It was certainly nowhere near the one he produced in the 8-0 drubbing of Kazakhstan last week. But the fact that he was still the difference-maker tells you everything about his quality.
Mbappe fluffed his lines in the opening stanza, missing one good chance and seeing the other parried away. But the PSG ace got his act together after the break and was involved in both of France's goals.
His assist for Karim Benzema was good as the latter opened the scoring, but the goal he scored to seal the game was even better. Mbappe beat Leo Vaisanen for pace down the left flank before bending a sublime strike into the bottom corner.
Even when not performing to his best, Mbappe manages to produce moments like that, straight out of the top-drawer, for both France and PSG. It's almost like the goal and assist against Finland were meticulously rendered in an Autodesk lab!
We're quickly running out of superlatives to describe the young superstar.
