Guillaume Restes sets France record as Leny Yoro makes international debut

Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes became the youngest player in his position to represent France in the post-war era during Monday’s Nations League meeting with Belgium.

Restes was 21 years and 208 days old when he made his first appearance for Les Bleus, surpassing a landmark that had stood for more than half a century.

The previous youngest France goalkeeper was Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes, who played against Denmark on 21 November 1973 at the age of 21 years and 182 days.

Only Georges Carnus was younger than Restes when he made his France debut in the post-war period. Carnus was 20 years and 258 days old when he played against Brazil in 1963.

The milestone was highlighted by OptaJean, which listed Carnus, Bertrand-Demanes and Restes as the three youngest post-war goalkeepers to play for France.

Restes also recorded an unwanted statistic during the match. After the first half, he became the 14th goalkeeper in France’s history to concede the opening goal of his international career against Belgium.

That figure is higher than for any other nation, according to Euro Stats. Stats Foot also reported the statistic in relation to the France-Belgium fixture.

France were playing their fourth Nations League match of the campaign. They had begun with a 1-0 away victory against Turkey, followed by another 1-0 win away to Belgium, before drawing 1-1 at home against Italy.

The match also marked the international debut of Manchester United defender Leny Yoro, who started for France after receiving his first call-up last month.

Yoro, 20, was selected alongside Maxence Lacroix of Chelsea in central defence. Liverpool defender Jeremy Jacquet was unavailable because of a minor injury.

Yoro’s call-up followed the injury suffered by Ibrahima Konate, creating the opportunity for the Manchester United defender to make his first appearance for the senior national team.