French players 'test' Vietnam before match at U20 World Cup

Denis Doha believes the 3-0 win over Honduras was not France's best performance, while Augustin wants more goals to win the 'Top scorer' title.

“It was great to start the U20 World Cup with a 3-0 win. We want to continue winning like that in the next match. France has not shown their full potential yet. We are recovering to prepare for another important match, against Vietnam,” Denis Doha shared before the second match of Group E of the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup.

France is leading Group E with three points. If they win the match against Vietnam at 3pm (Hanoi time) on May 25, coach Ludovic Batelli and his team will qualify for the knockout round one round early.

Augustin (number 7) is considered one of the players worth watching at the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup.Photo: Duc Dong.

France are the clear favourites to win the tournament in South Korea. The team’s star man is Jean Kevin Augustin, who won both the “Top Scorer” and “Best Player” awards at the 2016 European U19 Championship. In his opening match, the PSG striker scored a classy free-kick that left the Honduran goalkeeper standing and watching.

Coach Batelli said Augustin was injured in a training session and he planned not to use this player in the match against Honduras. However, the striker born in 1997 came to him, asked to be in the starting lineup, promised to score and come off the field after an hour of play.

“I have been waiting for this tournament for months. I am happy to be here and will do everything I can to win the Cup. Besides, as a striker, of course I want to score as many goals as possible. I want to be the “Top scorer” of this tournament,” Agustin shared before the match with Vietnam.

France is one of the most highly rated teams in this year's tournament. Photo: Duc Dong.

Coach Batelli said Augustin has fully recovered and he is confident that his favorite student will fill the void left by Kylian Mbappe, the 19-year-old striker who is a mainstay at Monaco and has been called up to the French national team.

“I know Augustin’s ability very well. He has scored many goals and will certainly continue to score many more. Augustin is a good replacement for Mbappe. A player like him needs to constantly be challenged. The more he does, the more he likes it and the more he shines,” said coach Batelli.

In addition to Augustin, France has another dangerous striker, Marcus Thuram, son of former international Lilian Thuram. This player is 1m89 tall and has exquisite ball handling skills.

According to VNE