Pavard compared to Thuram after wondergoal By Rune Gjerulff

Stuttgart's French international Benjamin Pavard is the first French defender to get on the scoresheet at a World Cup tournament since Lilian Thuram scored in 1998.

Benjamin Pavard.

The young Stuttgart starlet Benjamin Pavard scored his first international goal when France beat Argentina 4-3 at the World Cup yesterday as he smashed the ball into the net from the edge of the area to make it 2-2.





The 22-year-old is the first French defender to score at a World Cup tournament in twenty years. Back then, in 1998, another French right-back - Lilian Thuram - netted twice to earn 'Les Bleus' a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Croatia in the semi-final.



The current French national team coach, Didier Deschamps, was the captain of the French side that went on to win the tournament in 1998, and after the game yesterday he told Pavard that his strike reminded him of Thuram's goals back then.



"The coach told me that there is another right back who scored the same goal - Lilian Thuram. Hopefully there are more goals to come," Pavard told AP after the game and added:



"To score a goal like that at the World Cup is something huge. I will remember it for the rest of my life. It’s pure joy for me and the whole team. We saw tonight we are a great team."



If you want to get to know Benjamin Pavard better, here is a list of five things you may not know about him.





