Toulouse first through to Challenge Espoirs semi-finals after 1-0 at Saint-Etienne | OneFootball

Toulouse became the first side to reach the Challenge Espoirs semi-finals after winning 1-0 at Saint-Etienne on Sunday.

L'Équipe notes that the competition was relaunched last season by the French federation, the FFF, after the reserve league was scrapped, and it is aimed at under-23 players from club academies.

Nicolas Wasbauer, part of the senior squad, scored the only goal. Ilyas Azizi started, having come on at the Parc des Princes in Friday's 1-3 Ligue 1 defeat to PSG.

With Monday's remaining fixtures to come, including OM's, the Haute-Garonne club are guaranteed a top-two finish in Group A, enough to progress.

As in the previous campaign, Toulouse will contest the last four after falling to Rennes last time out, a 1-1 draw followed by a 3-4 loss on penalties.

The inaugural edition produced no winner after the Rennes v Monaco final was abandoned when Monaco's Samuel Nibombé suffered a cardiac arrest, he is now with ASM's first-team group. The semi-finals are set for May, with date and venue to be confirmed.

Source: L'Équipe