Doue emulates Zidane with deadly double
Forward opened his France scoring account with a brace against Colombia and looks primed for important role at World Cup 2026.
France picked up two wins in March friendly matches
Desire Doue proved decisive with brace in victory over Colombia
He joins select group of French players who opened goalscoring accounts with a double
March was a fantastic month for the French team, delighting their fans and impressing pundits with victories over Brazil and Colombia. According to head coach Didier Deschamps, none of the players selected have “fallen behind” in the race for a place at the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
This international window also saw Desire Doue emphatically stake his claim for a starting role. He stole the show in a 3-1 win against Colombia, propelling his team to victory with a fine brace.
“I feel over the moon and incredibly proud,” he told TF1. “It’s a great win, but it wasn’t easy. It was a hard-fought match. We've performed well across the two games and we're delighted.”
The goals were the Paris Saint-Germain sensation's first for France, having been part of the national team for the past year. His brace was reminiscent of his sensational double for PSG against Inter Milan in the final of last season's UEFA Champions League; Doue is the only player under the age of 20 to have scored twice in the final of the competition.
Only a handful of French national team players, meanwhile, have opened their senior international accounts with a brace.
The best known of them all, Zinedine Zidane, did just that on his international debut. He bagged both Les Bleus' goals in 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic in August 1994. Marvin Martin also had a debut to remember, scoring twice in a 4-1 win over Ukraine in June 2011. Bafetimbi Gomis did the same in a 2-0 victory against Ecuador in May 2008.
Like Doue, the late Bernard Lacombe failed to find the net on his debut, but went on to score a brace when he broke his duck against the USSR in a 3-3 draw in April 1974.
The French press was quick to highlight the parallels between Doue’s career and that of superstar countryman Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe stunned the world in the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup by scoring two goals in a 4-3 win over Argentina, at the age of 19 years and six months.
At 20 years and nine months, Doue's Colombia double saw him become the youngest player to hit a brace for France since Mbappe.
Prior to this international window, Doue had not featured for France for six months due to injury. He came on as a 66th-minute substitute against Brazil before playing a starring role as a starter in the Colombia clash.
“The coach told us how important it was to win," added Doue. "We played at a high intensity and need to carry on like this. Scoring goals comes naturally to me, but I try to do my best to help the team.”