France fight back for victory

France defied the odds by bouncing back from two goals and a player down to earn three points in their opening UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group B game against Serbia as Kévin Monnet-Paquet stamped his mark on the tournament with a hat-trick.

Fine comeback
Goals from Miralem Sulejmani and Rodoljub Marjanović had given Serbia a stranglehold until France, down to ten men after Bakary Sako was shown a red card, stormed back thanks to three goals by Monnet-Paquet and two by Malaury Martin.

Unbeaten record
Serbia arrived at the quaint Fill Metallbau Stadium with an unbeaten record and a small band of supporters who cheered every name as it was announced before kick-off. France, meanwhile, were looking to make a positive start in their bid to regain the trophy they won two years ago after missing out on qualification last time.

Vainqueur injured
After the early sparring it was Serbia who settled first in the sweltering early evening heat in Ried as Sulejmani and Ivan Radovanović both fired early warning shots. On 21 minutes they took the lead as France suffered a nightmare three minutes in which they were also reduced to ten men and had William Vainqueur stretched off with a serious-looking knee injury.

Serbian second
It was a clever free-kick that led to the opener as Nikola Gulan chipped the ball into Miloš Bosancic's path only for the Serbia captain to be brought down by Sako. The French midfielder was sent off and the stocky Sulejmani rolled in the penalty for his fifth goal in six U19 internationals. Then, on 35 minutes, they doubled their lead after Sulejmani outpaced Quentin Othon before cutting the ball back for Marjanović to direct into the bottom corner.

Inspiring comeback
It was as if France were inspired by the local legend of a lanced boot that gave soldiers the courage to conquer, however, as they embarked on a remarkable comeback. A lapse in concentration allowed Monnet-Paquet the space to place a low shot into the bottom corner before the man who was the hero of France's 3-1 win in qualification against Israel equalised with a sublime curler from the left-side of the box.

Hat-trick hero
The turnaround was completed six minutes after the break as France captain Martin sent a long-range free-kick into the top corner and, despite their man advantage, Serbia were unable to fight back as Monnet-Pacquet capped a fine performance by lifting the ball over Branislav Danilović for his hat-trick 14 minutes from time before Martin added a fifth in added time. France will be looking to build on their victory when they play Germany on Wednesday, while Serbia take on Russia.