Tottenham’s Mathys Tel found the back of the net for France Under-21s as they registered their first win of their UEFA Euro U21 campaign against Georgia.
There has been plenty of speculation regarding Tel’s future over the last few days as Bayern and Tottenham look to hammer out a deal for the forward.
Spurs confirmed the permanent transfer of Tel on Sunday morning, who became the first Tottenham signing of the Thomas Frank era.
However, the forward is now focused on the UEFA Euro U21, which is taking place in Slovakia, and he played a key hand as France got a crucial three points on the board on Saturday.
Mathys Tel wins a penalty and converts from the spot
Tel started on the left in France’s tournament opener against Portugal, but against Georgia, the 20-year-old was asked to lead the line.
Wilson Odobert kept his place on the right flank, with the pair both getting 73 minutes under their belt.
On 33 minutes, the Bayern man won a penalty for his side, owing to some dangerous play from a Georgian centre-back, who caught Tel on his head with a high boot just as the forward was about to get his head on the ball.
The youngster stepped up to convert the penalty, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way before calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net.
France needed a late turnaround to get all three points
Tel’s goal was the only one that separated the two sides until 76 minutes, but two quickfire goals from Georgians within a space of eight minutes turned the game on its head.
However, just as it looked like we were going to have a major upset, there was yet another major twist to come in the dying stages.
France were trailing 2-1 until 89 minutes, but an equaliser by Johann Lepenant and a stoppage-time winner by Thierno Barry, who came on for Odobert, ensured that the French picked up their first win of the tournament.