(Netherlands – France 0-0) Kylian Mbappe remained on the bench and had to watch his teammate Antoine Griezmann waste two big chances. After the match, debate raged over whether or not the Netherlands should have scored.
The big match between the Netherlands and France in Group D in Leipzig ended 0-0.
France have been named by many as one of the biggest favorites to win the gold medal at the tournament, but after two matches in the group stage, Austria's own goal became France's only goal of the European Championship.
Against the Netherlands, Griezmann had two big chances to do something about it:
- Early in the first half, Adrien Rabiot passed the ball, and perhaps should have finished the game himself, but instead chose to be unselfish and play alongside Griezmann. But in an open goal, the experienced 33-year-old tripped over his legs.
- Midway through the second half, the same man had another giant chance alone with Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Due to his lack of balance, the Atletico Madrid player did not shoot the ball correctly, and the young goalkeeper made a strong save.
Immediately after Griezmann's second huge chance, Xavi Simons thought he had sent the Netherlands into the lead. The young man chanted uncontrollably as he headed towards his fans – but it was the linesman who raised the flag.
Then VAR came in and checked. Three minutes later, the linesman's decision was made.
The Video Assistant Referee reached the same assessment, which was that Denzel Dumfries was offside and blocked the view of France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
-We can be proud. I'm happy that the team showed fighting spirit until the last second. “Now we have to turn to Austria,” Simons says.
National team manager Ronald Koeman was happy with the result, but was not entirely happy with the time he spent offside.
-If it's sneaky, you don't have to spend four minutes touching your ear. If you have too much doubt, you concede a goal, Koeman confirms, before making a more general statement about the match:
– If you had asked me beforehand if I would be happy to get four points in two games after playing against France, I would have accepted it. “I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm happy,” Ronald Koeman said after the match.
French national team director Didier Deschamps said the following about the situation:
– It's not a goal. As long as a player obstructs the goalkeeper's view, it is offside. From the screens I saw on site, it looked crisp and clear.
Did you get this?
In the BBC studio, two former top English goalscorers sat down and discussed the situation. They were clear in their rhetoric and concluded that France was lucky.
-The goal should never have been cancelled. “I think it should have been a goal and it was frustrating to see how long it took,” says Wayne Rooney.
– I think France was very lucky here when you see the corner behind the goal, Alan Shearer continues.
120 matches and 53 goals for England.
The match was the first scoreless match in the context of the European Championship since the group stage match between England and Scotland in 2021.
There has been great excitement over whether Kylian Mbappe will be fit for France's second group stage match after breaking his nose against Austria. He sat on the bench throughout the match.
NB! Poland is the first team to exit the tournament.
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