NUR-SULTAN, (Kazakhstan): Ousmane Dembele scored the opening goal as holders France beat Kazakhstan 2-0 away on Sunday to claim the first victory in their campaign to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Sergei Maliy put through his own net for France’s second goal before half-time but Kylian Mbappe had a second-half penalty saved after coming off the bench.

It was a welcome result for the reigning world champions after they kicked off their campaign in qualifying Group D by drawing 1-1 at home to Ukraine last Wednesday. “We said beforehand that it was all about getting the job done and it’s a positive result against a team who never gave up,” Paul Pogba, who returned to the starting line-up, told broadcaster TF1.

“People might have thought Kazakhstan would let us score five goals but no, they played well. We had chances to score more goals but their goalkeeper played well. We got the result and we can be happy.” Didier Deschamps’ side now stop off in Sarajevo for another match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday to complete a hectic start to qualifying before reverting their focus to the delayed Euro 2020 in June.