France and Italy win World Cup qualifying games: Records broken
What's the story
France and Italy registered wins in their respective World Cup qualifying games against Kazakhstan and Bulgaria respectively. France won 2-0, whereas, Italy too sealed a 2-0 victory. France top Group D with four points from two games, whereas, Italy lead the proceedings in Group C. Italy have six points and are above Switzerland on goal difference. Here are the records broken.
France
France get the job done against Kazakhstan
Anthony Martial, who got injured in France's win, set up Ousmane Dembele for the first goal in the 19th minute. Kazakhstan's Sergiy Maliy produced a fine clearance as Martial looked to make it 2-0 before the defender headed into his own net. Martial was replaced by Kylian Mbappe, who missed a penalty after being fouled.
Italy
Italy overcome Bulgaria with a 2-0 win
Roberto Mancini's Italy side overcame Bugaria, who fell to their second consecutive defeat in Sofia. Andrea Belotti got the first goal from the penalty spot just before the break with Manuel Locatelli getting the win with his first 'Azzurri' goal with eight minutes to go. Italy are top of their group after winning their opener 2-0 against Northern Ireland.
Italy
Notable records for Italy
Italy have kept six clean sheets in a row away from home. As per Opta, this is their longest such run in history (overtaking previous record established under Ferruccio Valcareggi between 1972 and 1974). Andrea Belotti as scored nine goals away for Italy: excluding games played in neutral venues. Only, Silvio Piola, Gigi Riva (both 13) and Giuseppe Meazza (12) have netted more.
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Key stats for France
France have won their last seven away games, their best run since January 1990-October 1991 (7). French forward Antoine Griezmann has played the last 45 games for the French national team. Ousmane Dembele scored his third goal for France in 23 appearances.