PARIS (Interstat) — Elies Diallo scored a first-half hat trick and France U17 defeated Armenia U17 4-0 Wednesday in an under-17 football match, turning early pressure into a commanding home victory. Diallo struck in the fifth minute, added another in the 16th and completed his hat trick in the 28th, giving the home side a three-goal lead before halftime. France kept the visitors without a goal and added a fourth in the 63rd minute when Yanis Kharbouch scored. The home side led throughout after Diallo’s opener and never allowed Armenia to mount a comeback.

Diallo was the top star for France, finishing with three goals in 83 minutes before he was replaced. His first two goals came during a dominant opening stretch, and his third completed the hat trick before the half-hour mark. Kharbouch recorded a goal and an assist while playing the full match, and Enzo Makumba also played the full match and supplied an assist. Souleyman Zeghadi contributed an assist in 64 minutes before being substituted. France’s attacking play produced the decisive separation early, and Armenia could not answer after falling behind in the opening minutes. The French midfield and defense protected the lead after Kharbouch’s second-half goal.

Armenia’s efforts to slow France included a yellow card for Harutyunyan G. in the 31st minute. Babayan A. was booked in the 60th minute, and Armenia received another yellow card in the 61st minute. France was shown a yellow card in the 87th minute. The match remained scoreless after Kharbouch’s goal, and France closed out the shutout. Armenia could not take advantage of its spells in possession and finished without a goal. France’s defensive work preserved the clean sheet through the closing stages.

The substitutions began in the 64th minute, when France and Armenia each made a change. France’s changes involved Zeghadi S., Gouandjia A., Bedja S., Diallo and Leprieur E. Armenia’s changes involved Beglaryan B., Petrosyan S., Vuvunikyan E., Beglaryan S. and Hovakimyan R. France made two changes in the 72nd minute, Armenia made three in the 75th, France made two in the 83rd, and Armenia made one in the 85th. The flow of the match stayed in France’s favor as the home side managed the closing minutes. Armenia’s late adjustments could not produce a goal, and France maintained its four-goal advantage to the final whistle.

The result left France 1-0 in the competition and 1-1 across all competitions. Armenia fell to 0-1 in the competition and 0-1 overall. France entered the match after an earlier loss to the Netherlands this season, and the home side responded with a sharper attacking display. Diallo’s three goals came in a 23-minute span, and Kharbouch’s goal gave France another cushion after Armenia tried to regroup. France’s performance combined an early scoring burst with a shutout, while Armenia remained without a win in the competition and across all competitions this season.

France’s early goals set the tone and forced Armenia to chase from the fifth minute. The home side doubled its lead before the 20-minute mark and made it 3-0 in the 28th, leaving Armenia with a steep deficit before halftime. Armenia’s yellow cards in the 31st, 60th and 61st minutes reflected the difficulty of containing France’s attack. Kharbouch’s 63rd-minute goal ended the scoring, and France used substitutions to see out the match. The clean sheet completed a controlling home performance and gave France its first win in the competition this season, while Armenia remained without a win in either competition or overall play.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of France U17 1, Armenia U17 0, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected France U17 with a 60.5 percent probability to win.