(Video) Hugo Ekitike scores his first goal for France and it was scintillating to watch | OneFootball

Hugo Ekitike will never forget the night of 13 November 2025, both on an individual and a collective level.

The Liverpool striker was named on the substitutes’ bench for France in their World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Thursday night, with Les Bleus knowing that a win would confirm their place at the finals next summer.

The match was in the balance at 1-0 when the 23-year-old was brought on midway through the second half, but three further goals ensured that Didier Deschamps’ side eventually cruised to victory.

Ekitike scores first goal for France

Two minutes from the end of normal time, Ekitike burst forward on a lengthy solo run from the halfway line to the edge of the penalty area.

He then played a neat one-two with Kylian Mbappe (a scorer of two goals for France tonight) before slotting an assured first-time finish beyond Anatoliy Trubin to round off the scoring for Les Bleus, in the process netting his first goal for his country.

(Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images)

Ekitike puts his hand up for a place in World Cup squad

Ibrahima Konate spoke earlier this week of how he cajoled Ekitike into putting in additional gym work at Liverpool to earn his first France call-up in September, and the motivational speech has certainly had the desired effect!

The run from deep and the execution of the finish illustrated the confidence that’s coursing through the veins of the striker, who’s currently the Reds’ top scorer for the season so far, making an immediate impact since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.

In addition to his goal against Ukraine, the 23-year-old won four of his six duels and completed 100% of his dribbles, and only the woodwork denied him a brace in a highly impactful appearance off the bench for his country (Sofascore).

Given the extraordinary attacking wealth at Deschamps’ disposal, Ekitike will need to keep producing the goods if he’s to carve out a starting berth for Les Bleus, but his brilliantly-taken goal tonight should go some way to ensuring him a seat on the plane to North America next summer.

You can view Ekitike’s goal against Ukraine below, taken from FS2’s match coverage and shared via @TheGoalsZone on X:

You can watch Slot’s full post-Man City press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: