Jean-Philippe Mateta has sparked plenty of reaction back at Crystal Palace after scoring for France.
The 28-year-old put Les Bleus ahead in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Iceland on Monday night, in a match which eventually finished 2-2 but saw the man from Sevran realise a lifelong dream.
After seeing that Jean-Philippe Mateta had scored, his Crystal Palace teammates Adam Wharton and Chris Richards showed their pride.
Jean-Philippe Mateta congratulated by six Crystal Palace teammates and Joel Ward
After the France international posted about his goal on Instagram, many associated with the Eagles flooded the comments section.
Wharton was first to respond, writing “congrats brother” along with three heart-eye emojis (😍).
Richards was also present in the comments section, but the United States international went as far as uploading his own story for Mateta, posting “BOOM congrats brother” along with a heart emoji (❤️).
Daniel Munoz also replied, writing “yes sir boom” with a couple of fire emojis (🔥) – while Jefferson Lerma posted “BOOM” and Joel Ward sent applauding emojis (👏) to the Frenchman.
David Ozoh and Justin Devenny also congratulated Mateta – who replaced the injured Kylian Mbappe – on his goal.
France goal has come at a perfect time for Crystal Palace
Heading into this international break, Mateta – who impressed French media – had failed to score in three games for Crystal Palace, and was guilty of missing several glorious opportunities.
The Crystal Palace No.14 has actually missed more clear-cut chances than any other player in the Premier League this season with seven in seven appearances.
With 34 goals in 71 games under Oliver Glasner, we know Mateta can finish, so this run can presumably be put down to a lack of confidence.
However, scoring for France – a lifelong dream for the striker – will surely put him on cloud nine as he prepares to head back to south London, and will hopefully see him return to his prolific ways for the Eagles, starting on Saturday against Bournemouth.
