Jean-Philippe Mateta continued his remarkable rise by scoring on his full debut for France against Iceland on Monday night.
The Crystal Palace No.14 bundled in a cross from Maghnes Akliouche, who Dougie Freedman wanted, in the 68th minute to put Les Bleus 2-1 up in the FIFA World Cup qualifier, and it proved to be an important strike as Iceland eventually equalised to earn a draw.
L’Equipe have since commented on how Jean-Philippe Mateta performed, and the French news outlet seem quite content with the man born in Sevran.
L’Equipe brand Jean-Philippe Mateta a “lucky star” on special night for Crystal Palace talisman
The 28-year-old endured a frustrating night in the opening 45 minutes against Iceland, but L’Equipe praised him for staying in the game and making a decisive contribution.
In their analysis of the game, the French media outlet wrote: “At 28, making his first start, could he have dreamed of anything better? For a long time, Jean-Philippe Mateta was frustrated during this match, between a lack of balls and a few misjudged deflections. At half time, the striker had only touched the ball 13 times – half as many as any other French player, but the Crystal Palace player seems to have a lucky star.
“Perfectly positioned to respond to a cross from Maghnes Akliouche, the Frenchman scored his first goal, on his second cap. Mateta thus became the sixth player to score on his first start for the French national team in the last ten years, after N’Golo Kante, Wissam Ben Yedder, Kurt Zouma, Eduardo Camavinga, and Warren Zaire-Emery.”
Interestingly, not even Kylian Mbappe managed to score on his full debut for France.
It took the Real Madrid No.10 five matches to net his first goal for France, which came in a 4-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over the Netherlands back in August 2017.
Of course, Mateta is far more experienced than Mbappe – who was only 18 when he scored that maiden goal for France.
However, few people expected Mateta to ever play for France back when he was struggling under Roy Hodgson and Patrick Vieira, so it is testament to his professionalism that he has managed to even reach this level – let alone score.
How Jean-Philippe Mateta fared statistically in Iceland 2-2 France
Didier Deschamps gave Mateta 89 minutes of action on his first start for France, and it was not the greatest display from the striker given what he’s shown in recent times.
| Category | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Top stats | |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Total shots | 4 |
| Accurate passes | 11/16 (69%) |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Dribbles | 0/0 |
| Attack | |
| Touches | 23 |
| Accurate crosses | 0/0 |
| Possession lost | 8 |
| Defence | |
| Tackles won | 0 |
| Clearances | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
| Duels | |
| Ground duels won | 0/1 |
| Aerial duels won | 2/6 |
| Fouls committed | 1 |
The France international only had 23 touches in these 89 minutes – meaning he touched the ball every 3.9 minutes on average – and completed just 11 passes.
Nevertheless, Mateta got himself back on the scoresheet after a run of three games without a goal for Crystal Palace – and for his country no less – which should give him plenty of confidence to take back to SE25.
