Kasper Asgreen outsprinted the chasing peloton to take victory from a breakaway on stage 18 of the Tour de France in Bourg-en-Bresse.

The sprint teams got their sums wrong on the 185km stage from Moutiers as a four-strong break held on by less than 50 metres to take the stage, with Asgreen beating fellow escapees Pascal Eenkhoorn and Jonas Abrahamsen to take his first career Tour stage win.

Jasper Philipsen, hoping to add to his four sprint stage wins in this first opportunity for the quick men in over a week, came home in fourth having failed to make the catch.

There was perhaps some karma in that given the aggressive tactics Philipsen had used earlier in the stage when trying to block Eenkhoorn’s bid to join the breakaway.

The sprint finish to the 185km stage from Moutiers meant no changes at the top of the general classification, in which defending champion Jonas Vingegaard took an all-but-unassailable seven-and-a-half minute lead over Tadej Pogacar on Wednesday.

This slightly lumpy stage offered up the prospect of a breakaway denying the quick men if enough riders could get up the road, although the sprinters who survived the mountains were desperate for their chance, with perhaps only the Champs-Elysees left after this.

But with exhausted legs throughout the peloton after some punishing days in the Alps only three – Asgreen, Abrahamsen and Victor Campernaerts – chanced their arm and were rarely given more than a minute’s advantage.

That short gap allowed Campernaerts’ team-mate Pascal Eenkhoorn to bridge over with 60km to go, despite being forced on to the verge by Philipsen as he tried to get away from the main bunch.

Even as a quartet, the front group appeared to have little chance, but the sprint teams struggled to reel them in on the way into town, and as the road narrowed into a couple of tight technical corners, it became apparent that the scales were tipping in favour of those out in front.

Asgreen then came around Abrahamsen inside the final 100 metres with the chasing Eenkhoorn unable to get on terms.

It was a first stage victory of this Tour for Soudal-QuickStep, a perennial winning machine who had not reached stage 18 without taking a stage for more than a decade, but also a team who lost star sprinter Fabio Jakobsen to injury earlier in the race.

“The situation was not ideal,” Asgreen said. “We’d have preferred to have gone with maybe six or seven (in the break) but also the last week of the Tour coming off some really, really hard days, we’ve seen it before that even a small group can manage to beat the sprint teams so I didn’t rule it out.

“It was a team time trial to the finish. I really couldn’t have done it without Pascal, Victor and Jonas. They all did amazing out there and to be honest we all deserved the win with the work we put in but I’m really happy to come away with it.

“It means so much. With the period I had in the last year since my crash at the Tour de Suisse and having to leave the Tour de France I’ve come a long way. To cap it off with victory like this I really want to dedicate it to all the people who helped me throughout the last year.”

David Menuisier will keep the Goodwood door ajar for Heartache Tonight, although the talented filly is more likely to run in France next month.

The Pulborough-based trainer has left the daughter of Recorder in the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes, although as she builds up to a possible Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe tilt, the three-year-old is being primed for a return to action at Deauville.

Owned by Chris Wright and Andy MacDonald, Heartache Tonight was a close-up fourth to Jannah Rose in the Group One Prix-Saint Alary at ParisLongchamp in May, before finishing sixth to Soul Sister in the Oaks.

Menuisier stated that he would then give her a summer break and look towards the autumn, but she was handed a surprise entry for a possible step up to a mile and three-quarters for the Group Two Lillie Langtry on August 5.

However, Menuisier insists it is only a speculative option and said: “We put her in the race just to have a look at it, but without any real interest at the moment.

“It wouldn’t be a target as such. Unless circumstances turn really favourable, it wouldn’t really be on the radar. We have kept her in to have a look, but we’ve no real interest.

“The circumstances would be softer ground and if the field was absolutely shattered and then you wouldn’t have to maybe think about it.

“It goes without staying she should stay, there is a lot of prize money and it would be an interesting race to win. That’s why we have kept her in.”

Heartache Tonight also holds an entry in the Yorkshire Oaks later next month, but the trainer is favouring a Group Three contest over an extended mile and a half for her return.

Menuisier added: “The main target would be to come back in the Prix Minerve at Deauville on August 13.”

The general belief in Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz camp is that they can progress beyond the group stages on this, their second-consecutive Fifa Women’s World Cup appearance.

In fact, Head coach Lorne Donaldson would readily declare that the possibility of his Reggae Girlz achieving the feat is by no means impossible. Still, he is under no illusion that defeating or merely taking points off the new-look, young and formidable Brazil outfit, as well as the well-organised and experienced France team, will be easy.

While their just-concluded camp in Amsterdam inspires confidence, as it assisted in fine-tuning certain technical and tactical aspects, Donaldson admits that the team is still not yet where he wants them to be with the July 20 to August 20 global showpiece in Australia and New Zealand, now nine days away.

“The camp was good; I wish we had a game which would have been the true test, but it was good, nonetheless. The players worked hard, and they seem very focused, but we're not there yet.

“We still have a few more days to go, so we start working on some of the tactical stuff and I the players are going in with a sense of purpose because they know what's at stake,” Donaldson told Sportsmax.tv shortly after arriving in Australia on Monday.

Since the start of their build up to the World Cup, Donaldson has stressed the importance of holding a tight defensive line, being very well organised and more effective when in possession, if they want to be competitive.

The 43^rd-ranked Reggae Girlz will open Group F play on July 23 against the number five-ranked Les Bleues, which is now the centre of their focus.

“I think France is playing a game (against Australia on Friday), so we might get a look at what their starting squad is like and just see exactly how we want to approach the game and how we want to match up against them and just go from there. If we want to be competitive, we will need to defend, and be very well organised and when we have possession, we would like to be more effective,” Donaldson shared.

“So, we still have some tactical stuff to look at and work on. I think our players know that they have to show up and be ready to perform so that makes life a little bit easier sometimes, but yes, we have to hold them accountable for certain things especially tactical mistakes,” he added.

After France, the Girlz will then tackle 52^nd-ranked Panama on July 29, before closing against 8^th-ranked Brazil on August 2.

However, before all of that, they will engage on final preparation game against Morocco which Donaldson believes will serve them well to lock in their plan towards efficient execution Down Under.

“We will use that game to try some things, we will give as much players as possible some minutes because the aim is to improve the work that we're doing, and we saw some stuff that we need to clean up. So, we will use this game to do that and then look at some tape with the players to see how much more we can brush up on our execution,” the coach noted.

That said, Donaldson, who was an assistant to Hue Menzies when the Girlz were hammered 0-3, 0-5 and 1-4 by Brazil, Italy and Australia on their World Cup debut in France in 2019, said they have no intentions of going out in that manner on this occasion.

“We expect to do well and get something out of the tournament,” he declared.

“We are not going to come here to the World Cup to lay down, we are going to push to get some success. We are planning to get out of the group, whichever way we have to get it done, we intend to get it done. So, it's just a matter of how well we execute when it comes to the big day,” Donaldson ended.

Pello Bilbao pointed to the sky in memory of his late team-mate Gino Mader as he celebrated his first career Tour de France stage win in Issoire on Tuesday.

Bilbao triumphed from a breakaway, a first Spanish stage win in five years, sparking emotional scenes less than a month after Mader died following a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse.

The pair were close friends, with Mader even having adopted a stray dog from the city of Bilbao and naming him Pello. In his podium interview, the Basque rider said the memory of Mader was “the only reason” for his win.

“It was hard to prepare the last two weeks with him in mind, but staying with my family at home helped me a lot, just to keep calm, be positive and put all my positive energy to try to do something nice in the Tour,” he said.

“I wanted to do it in the first Basque stages, that was so special for me but it was not possible so I just waited for my moment.

“I was maybe thinking my position in the overall was going to be a problem but I decided to a make an all-in move and in the end it was the right movement.

“My first victory in the Tour in 13 years as a pro is such a special moment for me.”

It was also an expensive one. Following Mader’s death, Bilbao had pledged to replicate the Swiss rider’s charitable gesture – donating one euro to environmental causes for every rider he finishes ahead of on each stage, also promising to double the donation if he won a stage.

Bilbao had already run up a bill of more than 1,200 euros in the opening week and will not mind having cost himself much more with a victory which also propelled him up the general classification to fifth, four and a half minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard who still leads by 17 seconds from Tadej Pogacar.

The 167km stage from Vulcania through the Massif Central looked custom-designed for a breakaway as racing resumed in sweltering temperatures after Monday’s rest day, but things were never so simple on a day when the attacks raged from the start to the finish.

Vingegaard and Pogacar were both involved in some of the early moves, splitting the main peloton, before 14 riders eventually got away.

But it was only occasionally a cohesive group. Krists Neilands launched an attack at the foot of the final climb and crested it with an advantage of 30 seconds, but that tumbled on the descent towards town and he was caught by a chasing group of five with three kilometres left.

Bilbao felt confident he was the fastest and let Zimmerman move to the front before launching his sprint with a couple of hundred metres left.

“With cold blood I let Zimmerman make his sprint and I went on the wheel, then it was just full gas for the last 200 metres thinking of nothing,” he said. “I crossed the line and I just put out all the energy inside of me and remembered the reason for this victory, a special one – for Gino.”

The main peloton came to the line a little under three minutes later with no change in the top four in the standings, while Bilbao jumped up six places with Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock now sixth, seventh and eighth overall respectively.

Mark Cavendish is due to have surgery on his broken right collarbone on Wednesday after being forced out of the Tour by a crash on Saturday.

The 38-year-old has previously announced his intention to retire at the end of the season but has been offered a one-year contract extension by Astana-Qazaqstan.

Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe scored for France in their 3-0 victory over Gibraltar in European Championship qualifying.

Giroud netted after only three minutes but a penalty from Mbappe just before half-time was the only other chance that the World Cup finalists converted before a late own goal from Aymen Mouelhi as France maintained their 100 per cent record in Group B.

In Group C, Ukraine fought back from 2-0 down to beat North Macedonia 3-2 and claim their first victory.

Enis Bardhi put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot and Elif Elmas doubled their advantage before the break.

But Illya Zabarnyi and Yukhym Konoplya scored within five minutes of each other to draw Ukraine level and Visar Musliu was then shown a second yellow card for North Macedonia before Viktor Tsygankov grabbed the winner seven minutes from time.

There was also late drama in Group D, where Turkey won their second game with a 3-2 victory over Latvia.

After goals from Abdulkerim Bardakci and Cengiz Under for Turkey either side of Eduards Emsis’ strike, Latvia looked to have secured a point when Kristers Tobers scored deep into injury time.

But Turkey went down the other end and Irfan Can Kahveci netted the winner a minute later.

Four teams are on six points in Group H, with Finland and Kazakhstan joining Denmark and Slovenia.

Teemu Pukki set up goals for Joel Pohjanpalo and Oliver Antman in Finland’s 2-0 win over Slovenia, while Kazakhstan defeated San Marino 3-0.

Switzerland made it three wins from three with a 2-1 victory over Andorra in Group I.

Remo Freuler and Zeki Amdouni put the Swiss two up before half-time but Marcio Vieira pulled one back for Andorra in the 67th minute.

Two late goals helped Israel to a 2-1 victory over Belarus, their first win of the campaign.

Belarus looked to be heading for the three points through Max Ebong’s 16th-minute opener but Shonn Weissman equalised with a penalty five minutes from time and teenager Oscar Gloukh netted an injury-time winner.

Also in Group I, Kosovo secured their third draw, holding Romania to a goalless stalemate in Pristina.

Olympic and World Championship silver-medalist, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, continued her unbeaten start to the 2023 season by outdueling American 400m hurdles world record holder, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, to win the 400m at the Paris Diamond League on Friday.

McLaughlin-Levrone, the reigning Olympic and World Champion and in the 400m hurdles, ran extremely aggressively in the first 300m before Paulino used her experience in the flat 400m to reel her in and cross the line first in 49.12. The American ran a personal best 49.71 for second while 2019 World Champion Salwa Eid Naser ran 49.95 for third.

Elsewhere on the track, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, who set a spectacular 1500m world record in Florence last week, was at it again, running 14:05.20 to set a new world record in the 5000m. Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, the previous world record holder, was second in 14:07.94 while her countrywomen Ejgayehu Taye was third in 14:13.31.

Commonwealth Champion, Kyron McMaster, ran a season’s best for fifth in the 400m hurdles.

The BVI native, who fell at the LA Grand Prix on May 27, ran 48.65. The race was won by American CJ Allen in 47.92 ahead of France’s Wilfried Happio (48.26) and World Championship bronze medalist Trevor Bassitt (48.28).

Jamaica’s Natoya Goule ran a season’s best 1:58.23 for third in the Women’s 800m. Keely Hodgkinson took the race in a new personal best, British record and world leading 1:55.77 while American Ajee Wilson was second in 1:58.16.

2011 World 100m champion, Yohan Blake, ran 10.16 for fourth in the Men’s 100m behind reigning 200m World Champion, Noah Lyles (9.96), Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (9.98) and Botswanan World Junior record holder Letsile Tebogo (10.05).

In the field, Jamaican 2019 World Championship silver medalist Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 19.25m for fourth in the Women’s shot put behind Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo (19.72m) and Americans Chase Ealey (19.43m) and Maggie Ewen (19.26m).

International rugby league is facing an uncertain future after France announced its decision to withdraw from hosting the 2025 World Cup, citing its inability to meet financial guarantees required by the French government.

The move, which affects the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments, has left the international game’s governing body, the IRL, scrabbling to consider other “contingency options” in order to ensure the continuation of the event.

However, those options do not include England, as following up its successful staging of the delayed 2021 tournament last year is seen as unfeasible given the short notice and level of finance required, the PA news agency understands.

IRL chief Troy Grant described the move as “very disappointing”, adding: “I respect the French Government’s decision amid the challenges they are facing but I can’t hide my disappointment, that I conveyed clearly to them in person.

“Despite our focus having been on France, we will now accelerate our consideration of other contingency options.”

The most obvious – and perhaps only remaining – option is to stage the tournament in Australia or New Zealand, although even this would be likely to require at least a one-year delay for logistical reasons.

RFL chairman Simon Johnson, who is also an IRL board member, said: “After the success of last autumn’s Rugby League World Cup in England, it is imperative that all in the sport now work with International Rugby League to rebuild the international calendar, for men’s, women’s and wheelchair rugby league.

“We are excited about the prospect of England men hosting Tonga in a three-Test series this autumn, with announcements to follow soon of fixtures for our women’s and wheelchair teams, and discussions already advanced regarding another home series in 2024.”

Rumours of French financial difficulties surfaced earlier this year, and enthusiasm for seeing through the project was hardly bolstered by last month’s double international in Warrington, in which both the French men’s and women’s teams were beaten 64-0 by England in back-to-back landslides.

The move also comes at an embarrassing time for the sport, whose “strategic partner” IMG has underscored the importance of the international fixture list as a cornerstone of its vision to “reimagine” the sport worldwide.

England are close to confirming a series against Samoa, who inflicted an agonising semi-final defeat at the Emirates Stadium last year, in 2024, but the women’s squad have fewer options with only a prospective Test against Wales on the agenda for later in 2023.

And the news will come as a particular blow to the wheelchair game, given France’s record of reaching the last three finals, including their narrow defeat to England last year.

Lucas Hernandez was back in Bayern Munich training on Monday for the first time since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the World Cup.

The versatile defender suffered the injury early on in France's Qatar 2022 opener against Australia in November.

He went down clutching his right knee after being turned by Matthew Leckie in the build-up to the Socceroos' opening goal.

France subsequently confirmed he ruptured his ACL, leading to fears that Hernandez's season – not just his World Cup – was over.

But his chances of being involved in Bayern's run-in have improved significantly after the club confirmed he was once again training with the ball on Monday.

Nevertheless, it would seem unlikely for Hernandez to be back in match contention during Bayern's Champions League quarter-final tie with Manchester City, the first leg being on Tuesday and the second eight days later.

He should be able to assist Thomas Tuchel's side in the final weeks of the Bundesliga season, however.

The defending champions are top of the table with seven matches to go but have only a two-point lead over Borussia Dortmund.

Antoine Dupont has been named the 2023 Six Nations Player of the Championship, while grand slam victors Ireland dominate the Team of the Championship.

France’s scrum-half is just the third player to win the award back-to-back, and only the second to claim it three times after also winning in 2020.

It puts him alongside Brian O’Driscoll, who won in 2006, 2007 and 2009, after receiving 26 per cent of the fan vote.

He edged out team-mates Thomas Ramos and Damian Penaud – leading try-scorer of the 2023 Championship with five – as well as Irish trio Caelan Doris, Hugo Keenan and Mack Hansen who were also shortlisted.

The Team of the Championship also sported a blue and green flavour with a combined 13 players named between the two teams after their superb performances.

Lock Thibaud Flament was the only non-Irishman included the forward pack, while Dupont was partnered with Johnny Sexton at fly-half after the latter ended his final Six Nations tournament with victory. 

Penaud, Doris, Keenan and Hansen were all also included, with Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Finlay Bealham completing a front row lockout for Ireland among the selections.

Scotland centres Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones marked the only representation from beyond Andy Farrell and Fabien Galthie's sides, following an impressive campaign that saw Gregor Townsend's men come third.

Ireland and France will now set their sights on a successful World Cup campaign later this year, with the latter set to play host when the tournament begins in September.

Didier Deschamps was not surprised by Mike Maignan's superb save in France's 1-0 win over Republic of Ireland, which he described as "worth a goal".

Milan goalkeeper Maignan preserved France's victory in the Euro 2024 qualifier with a sensational late stop, somehow clawing away Nathan Collins' goal-bound header.

That save followed him keeping out a penalty in France's 4-0 win over the Netherlands in their opening Group B clash, with Maignan quickly justifying his promotion to France's number one between the posts following Hugo Lloris' international retirement.

Having seen his side claim six points from two games, Deschamps was left with plenty to smile about as he reflected on their excellent start, including the shot-stopping prowess of Maignan.

"There is a lot of positive with six points, five goals and none conceded," said Deschamps in quotes reported by L'Equipe. 

"The calendar had not given us gifts with the Netherlands and Ireland. We were less radiant today than Friday. We had fewer opportunities but we have to win these matches.

"The team showed a very good state of mind and character. There is Mike's stop. It's worth a goal. We were able to answer and being less brilliant than in the first game. Ireland defended well. I am happy and proud of this group against two opponents like that. It's really good to have already taken these six points."

Of Maignan's save, he added: "It's an exceptional stop. But I'm not surprised. I know what he is capable of doing. Hugo was also capable of such stops of his kind. Mike has all the qualities, the wingspan and the mind. He is a leader.

"There was already the penalty stopped against the Netherlands. But this stop is even more expensive. I had no doubts and uncertainties about the succession. When Mike is in full possession of his means, he is of a very high level."

Prior to Maignan's save, Benjamin Pavard scored what proved the decisive with a rasping strike from outside the area that flew in off the crossbar.

Pavard's goal marked his first appearance for France since their opening game of the 2022 World Cup against Australia.

"He had a very complicated match at the beginning of the World Cup," Deschamps said of Pavard. 

"He had been a starter in previous years. He played the first game and Jules [Kounde] took his place.

"After this goal, I told him that I was very happy for him. Despite his personal disappointment, he has always kept the state of mind.

"He enjoyed his playing time in his club. It's very good for him and especially for the group."

Benjamin Pavard produced another stunning long-range strike for France as they beat Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.

France crushed Netherlands 4-0 in their opening qualifier last week but needed a moment of brilliance from Pavard to seal a hard-fought win in Dublin.

Pavard famously scored a sublime goal in France's 4-2 win over Argentina back in 2018 in a last-16 win during their victorious World Cup campaign in Russia.

This effort carries less significance but was one for the Bayern Munich full-back to remember as he made it six points from two games for France in Group B.

An uneventful first half produced just one shot on target, but the second of the match in the 50th minute sent the travelling France fans into raptures.

Josh Cullen's slack pass was intercepted by Pavard, who unleashed a fierce right-footed drive that flew past the helpless Gavin Bazunu and in off the underside of the crossbar.

Ireland never threatened a response and were grateful to Bazunu for keeping the score 1-0 when he produced a diving save to deny Moussa Diaby.

Bazunu got down low to his left to frustrate Adrien Rabiot as France continued to push to put the game beyond doubt, and their failure to find a second would have proved costly had Mike Maignan not made a fantastic late stop to keep out Nathan Collins' header.

Didier Deschamps expects Kylian Mbappe to continue breaking France records but knows a Republic of Ireland generation inspired by teenage talisman Evan Ferguson pose a threat.

Les Bleus thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier and will be confident of claiming another three points in Dublin on Monday.

New captain Mbappe hit a double against the Dutch, taking him to 38 international goals and fifth on France's all-time scoring charts – just three shy of the great Michel Platini (41).

Mbappe has scored half of those in his last 16 outings, as many as in his first 51 games, Deschamps suggests there is no limit for the 24-year-old.

"It's Kylian, he's full of ambitions. When he reaches one, he has another to reach," Deschamps said at a press conference.

"He reached and exceeded quite a few very early on. He has that in him. He has a driving role compared to the whole group.

"He will do everything to get there, he will need the others, but it's Kylian."

France have won their last four qualifying matches, for both the World Cup and Euros, by an aggregate score of 16-0.

Les Bleus have not managed five qualifying victories without conceding since doing so between November 1981 and December 1984, but they face an Ireland side buoyed by a young prospect of their own.

Ferguson scored on his first international start in a 3-2 win over Latvia and could become the first Ireland player to net in consecutive appearances before turning 19.

The Brighton and Hove Albion striker has been a hot topic of discussion, with Deschamps acknowledging the danger the 18-year-old might offer.

"It goes back to [Euro] 2016. I remember that we were trailing 1-0 [in the round of 16 before winning 2-1] and that it was complicated," Deschamps said.

"But there is a new generation with Ferguson. It is always very difficult to compare."

Ireland have lost just three of their last 30 Euros qualifying games (W14 D13) and are unbeaten in their last 14 on home soil (W8 D6), including play-off fixtures.

That strong home form is a factor Deschamps knows France must deal with.

He continued: "They are a technical team. From what I have seen, they use less direct play and long balls. It will be a different game, with the crowd pushing as well.

"It's a high level and it's up to us to do no less."

Kylian Mbappe hailed the "carefree" mindset of the new France generation as the forward eyes surpassing Michel Platini on Les Bleus' all-time scoring charts.

The Paris Saint-German superstar scored twice in his first game as France captain as Didier Deschamps' side hammered the Netherlands 4-0 to kickstart their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on Friday.

That double took the 24-year-old striker to 38 goals in 67 appearances for his country, just three international strikes short of Platini, who sits fourth in France's leading scorers chart.

Antoine Griezmann (43), Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (53) are the only three to manage more and Mbappe is out to catch Platini when Deschamps' men visit the Republic of Ireland on Monday.

He said at Sunday's pre-match press conference: "It's an honour but it's also the next target to beat.

"Platini remains a legend of French football but I want to continue my journey and it goes through Michel Platini."

France fell agonisingly short at the World Cup in Qatar, losing on penalties to Argentina in the final, but the future appears incredibly bright for Les Bleus.

Deschamps has the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Edouard Camavinga in midfield, while Randal Kolo Muani provides support for Mbappe up top.

Centre-back pairing Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano are yet to reach their 25th birthdays and Mbappe says he is relishing leading a youthful France.

"I don't know all the generations. This one is carefree," he added. "We always have this desire to show that we can do good things.

"This team can aim for the heights. In adversity, we will see other things. We had a first match that we made easy. We will see in due time.

"Maybe there will be more difficult moments and I hope that we can overcome them."

As for the captaincy, Mbappe suggested little has changed despite taking the armband from the retired Hugo Lloris.

He continued: "I was the same, I naturally played my new role. There was not much to say in relation to the team's performance. I'm not going to talk just to talk.

"I was the link between the two generations but there were no differences during the week. The group is doing very well, I did not have to intervene. The less work I have, the better for everyone.

"We must not get carried away and we have started qualifying well. Tomorrow's match will be more complicated than what people may think."

Ronald Koeman believes managing the Netherlands will be easier the second time around.

After a three-year absence, Koeman returned to the Oranje set up to succeed Frank de Boer following the World Cup in Qatar.

A second spell in charge begins with a daunting test against France as qualification for Euro 2024 gets underway on Friday at the Stade de France in Paris.

Koeman's initial stint with the national side brought an end to an absence from international competitions, leading the Netherlands to qualification for Euro 2020 – their first tournament since the 2014 World Cup.

However, Koeman left for Barcelona and did not take charge at the tournament, and returns to the fold with unfinished business.

"It's easier now than it was back then. There are a couple of players I have seen at my clubs, but 14 or 15 of the guys that are here I have worked with already, including Frenkie de Jong and Steven Bergwijn," he told a press conference.

"But there's also a couple of new guys. I'm curious what they think, what we think of them as players, those are fun conversations to have.

"I also had a lot of contact when I left the national team with my captain, Virgil van Dijk. Everything feels very familiar.

"We want to make this squad successful, we have to do that together. We are strong, but we need to work hard to perform well.

"You always follow players at their clubs, and new players also come here with certain nerves. The level is high, it's nice to see that the group does a lot of things together.

"Even the new guys are joining the 'old' guys at the table. That's a nice process. That's good to see."

Didier Deschamps insisted pleasing Kylian Mbappe played no part in his decision to make the Paris Saint-Germain star France captain.

Hugo Lloris' retirement vacated the France captaincy, with Mbappe named as the new skipper earlier this week ahead of Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.

Mbappe revealed on Thursday that Antoine Griezmann, one of France's longest-serving players, was disappointed by the decision, though Deschamps refuted the suggestion he made the call to appease the 24-year-old, who won the Golden Boot at last year's World Cup.

"It's not a choice to make him happy, but because I am convinced that he has all the qualities to do so," Deschamps said in a press conference.

"I'm not going to go into details. You know how it went chronologically. I made the decision on Monday evening. Kylian has been used to being in this group for a while.

"He won't be alone. The most important thing is that it's not an extra burden for Kylian."

Indeed, Deschamps has no concerns that becoming captain will be too much responsibility for Mbappe, who has scored 31 goals in 33 games for PSG this season.

"Being captain of the France team is a responsibility, but Kylian, when he is on the pitch, he thinks about what he has to do on the pitch," Deschamps continued.

"It comes naturally. There is no advice to give to him, Kylian knows."

When asked if Mbappe would have to become less selfish or alter his game as captain, Deschamps added: "That a striker can create individual actions, that's part of the role of a striker. It's not selfishness. He doesn't have to change."

Lloris' retirement has also opened an opportunity for a new goalkeeper to confirm themselves as number one.

While Alphonse Areola and Lens' Brice Samba – one of the best-performing goalkeepers in Ligue 1 this term – have been included in Deschamps' squad, Mike Maignan is Lloris' heir apparent.

"Mike is used to it, he has already played [France] matches," Deschamps said. "He cannot replace Hugo's experience overnight.

"He has overcome his injury problems. I don't have the slightest doubt, I have total confidence in him. He has everything to be at this level."