Finland ruin Marcus Thuram’s France debut with 2-0 victory
Finland spoiled Marcus Thuram's party yesterday morning (Singapore time) after beating France 2-0 on the day the Borussia Moenchengladbach attacker emulated his father Lilian Thuram by making his debut for Les Bleus.
Thuram was picked by Didier Deschamps for the friendly at the Stade de France more than 22 years after his dad won the World Cup at the same ground.
But, despite a strong performance on the left wing, he could not stop the Finns from coming out on top.
The 23-year-old hit the bar with less than 15 minutes gone and, soon after, flashed a difficult volley over as he and Lucas Digne caused problems down the left flank for the away side.
However, Marcus Forss shocked the hosts when he rammed home at Steve Mandanda's near post. France barely had any time to react before Onni Valakari doubled Finland's lead with a stunning effort.
The result will disappoint Deschamps but he will likely have been happy with the performance of Thuram, who made more of an impression than some of his more established teammates, including Paul Pogba and Olivier Giroud.
"It was a good first half despite the goals," Thuram told TV channel M6.
"I'm trying to learn a lot alongside the others... and to gain as much experience as possible. I hope that will continue." - AFP
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