Kylian Mbappe netted one and Olivier Giroud moved closer to France’s scoring record as the hosts beat Austria 2-0 in the Nations League.

Mbappe skipped past three defenders before drilling in his 28th international goal in the 56th minute on Thursday before Giroud celebrated his recall by heading powerfully in from Antoine Griezmann’s cross 10 minutes later to move onto 49 goals — two behind Thierry Henry’s national record.

Mbappe later said his image rights dispute with the French Football Federation was a “collective move” to help fellow teammates.

France have already lost their title but Croatia, the Netherlands and Belgium all won on Thursday to stay in contention for the Final Four next June. Croatia leapfrogged Denmark at the top of Group 1 by one point after beating the Danes 2-1 in Zagreb. The Netherlands won 2-0 in Poland while Belgium beat Wales 2-1 at home.

India stay upbeat

India take on Singapore in their first match of the Hung Thinh friendly tournament in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on Saturday. This will be the penultimate match of the year for the national football team and Igor Stimac’s men are expected to beat Singapore, who are ranked 159 in Fifa rankings. India, ranked 104 on the world chart, will be seen in action for the first time since their Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign in June.

Defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Chinglensana Singh, who didn’t accompany the team due to travel document problems and boarded a flight in the wee hours of Friday, might be rested. Head coach Igor Stimac sounded confident yet cautious on the eve of India’s first meeting with Singapore in 10 years. The Croat said though Singapore have made huge progress in the past few years, India have the ability to tame their opponents. “Singapore have improved in recent years but I will tell my players to play confidently and show what exactly we have in store for them,” Stimac was quoted as saying in an AIFF media release.

Kick-off: 5.30pm (Live on Eurosport)

(Our Bureau)