France won Group A at their home World Cup on Friday with a points festival against Italy and thus confidently reached the minimum target of the quarter-finals. The French defeated the Italians 60:7 in Lyon and celebrated their biggest victory to date in their 48th duel with their neighbors. On Thursday, the New Zealand “All Blacks” secured their second quarter-final ticket in Group A with a 73-0 win over Uruguay.
Reuters/Benoit Tessier
Damian Penaud opened the French festival with his first try after just 1:31 minutes, eight more were to follow. At halftime it was already 31-0 for the hosts. Italy, which would have made it to the quarter-finals for the first time if they had won, can console themselves with guaranteed qualification for the 2027 World Cup.
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