Selections : M’Vila, 49 years later

Eighteenth minute of Albania-France : in the midfield, Yann M’Vila runs through the opposition’s defense and transmits the ball to Benzema on the right wing. The former Lyon’s player takes his time and then passes back the ball to the Rennais, whose right-foot shot can’t be stopped by Ujkani.

Author of his first goal with “Les Bleus”, for his hundredth professional match (not including the matches played with the French U21 national team), the Rennais midfielder ended a 49 years old run!
Since 24th October 1962, no Rennes’ player had scored a single goal with « Les Bleus ». Before M’Vila, only three of them ever realized such a performance.

The first one was Jean Prouff, on 19th May 1946. For the fourth of his seventeen caps with France, the Rennais scored from a cross during a friendly match against England, played at Colombes (2-1). Modestly, he admitted after the game that he actually missed his cross.

Few years later, the successor of Prouff is Saint-Malo born Jean Grumellon. The best goal scorer in the history of Stade Rennes, the left-footed player scored five international goals during his spell with Rennes. The whole five goals were scored during friendly games, between his first cap, on 4th June 1949, and 1st November 1951 when he scored two goals against Switzerland (2-2).

Finally, the last Rennes’ scorer for France, until last Friday was Yvon Goujon. Yannick Stopyra’s uncle, scored goals for « Les Bleus » before, during and after the period when he played for Rennes. Selected eleven times, he scored six goals in total, including 2 during his time with the “Rouge et Noir”. Coincidence: he also scored during qualification matches for Euro. On 3rd October 1962, at Sheffield (in a Hillsborough Stadium that became sadly famous afterwards), Goujon scored the first goal of the match against England (1-1), thanks to an assist from Raymond Kopa.
Few weeks later, the 24th October 1962, the Rennais forward scored a head-kick goal against Western Germany (2-2). It was the second goal for France, after the first one scored by Parisian Stako.

A goal which is therefore followed by Yann M’Vila’s one… forty nine years later.