New Delhi: France and the Netherlands clash ended in a goalless draw in Group D at Euro 2024 on Friday that left within sight of a place in the Round of 16 and made Poland the first team to be eliminated.
With France captain Kylian Mbappe sidelined due to a broken nose from the opener, the game sparked intermittently but never quite reached classic status.
In the second half, Netherlands’ Xavi Simons found the back of the net, only for the goal to be disallowed after a lengthy VAR review determined Denzel Dumfries was offside, interfering with keeper Mike Maignan.
The result keeps the group wide open, but with four points each, both France and the Netherlands are likely to advance to the last 16. France will next face Poland, who remain point-less after a 3-1 loss to Austria, while the Netherlands will clash with Austria, who have three points, on Tuesday.
The drama around Mbappe’s inclusion in the starting XI dominated the build-up, with his appearance at the training on Thursday wearing a tricolour mask seen as a sign he was set for inclusion.
The first half was a whirlwind of action, with the Dutch nearly scoring in the opening minute as Jeremie Frimpong’s shot was brilliantly tipped around the post by Maignan. Moments later, Antoine Griezmann saw his early effort palmed over at the other end.
France had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Adrien Rabiot was through on goal but surprisingly chose to pass to Griezmann. Caught off guard by Rabiot’s unselfishness, Griezmann miscontrolled, stumbled, and lost possession.
With Mbappe sidelined, Griezmann stepped up as France’s main man, narrowly missing one chance and heading straight at keeper Bart Verbruggen from a Rabiot cross.
In contrast, the Netherlands struggled to pose a real threat, with their attacks often fizzling out as forwards failed to deliver decisive passes near the penalty area.
As the second half progressed, France ramped up the pressure. Marcus Thuram fired a shot wide on the hour, Aurelien Tchouameni headed over, and an off-balance Griezmann was once again denied by Verbruggen from close range.
The Dutch believed they had finally broken the deadlock when Simons rifled a shot into the net, only for the celebrations to be cut short by the linesman’s flag and dashed further by VAR.
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