(France-Belgium 1-0) As extra time approached, Jan Vertonghen (37) was unlucky and put the ball into his own net.
Short version
- France beat Belgium 1–0 after an own goal by Jan Vertonghen in the round of 16.
- Kylian Mbappe and France dominated, while Belgium struggled to get anything out of the game.
- France will face Portugal or Slovenia in the quarter-finals.
It wasn’t dull. It wasn’t on fire. There was too much France and Kylian Mbappe, too little Belgium and Kevin De Bruyne. In the end there was a sense that a late goal would decide the game.
And so it was. Randal Kolo Muani hit the ball but Jan Vertonghen got his foot on the ball and sent it into the net in the 85th minute.
– They won 1-0 and they are happy about it. “It's just about winning,” says Åge Hareide on NRK.
“They don’t dare to exploit their full potential,” Haride says of Belgium.
It was painful to see Vertonghen staring into the air as the referee blew his whistle. It was his 157th cap, the most for Belgium with 25 full caps, more than the next player Axel Witsel.
Now it's a holiday for Belgium. In the stands, fans in yellow, red and black nodded.
This was France's third goal in the tournament. The other two came after own goals and penalties.
The crowd had to wait 34 minutes for their first big chance to score. Jules Kounde sent a perfect cross to Marcus Thuram who headed wide. Big chance for the Blue, White and Red.
In the last minute of the first half, Aurelien Tchouameni fired a great shot after strong preparations from Mbappe, but the ball went slightly wide again.
Belgium were relatively weak in the last quarter of the first half and did not get an immediate boost after the break. France with Mbappe, Thuram and Tchouameni continued their march.
It was no surprise that Mbappé had several chances in the game, the first after 13 minutes. He had a good chance to shoot from a corner, but he pushed the ball wide. After switching sides, he had two good chances before the tenth minute, and he was also a solid waiter.
In the 70th minute, Romelu Lukaku had a chance to score but his shot was too late. He also failed to put the ball in the net.
Martin Odegaard's Arsenal team-mate William Saliba tested his left foot from ten to twelve metres out, it looked pretty good, but it was a metre outside the Belgian goal.
France will face Portugal in the quarter-finals.
After 60 minutes, Belgium finally took the lead in spectacular fashion. Kevin De Bruyne beat Yannick Carrasco, looked to be heading for goal, and was one-on-one with Mike Maignan, but Theo Hernandez made a brilliant tackle and the chance was over.
But after 80 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne showed what a risk-taking footballer he is. He got the ball, took it and went for it, a good shot and a great chance.
Mbappe suffered a broken nose in the group match against Austria, and survived surgery, but must play with a mask.
There were two giants in this round of 16, two FIFA ranked players against whom they had Number three.
France have won their last two games against Belgium, most recently in the 2021 Nations League and then in the 2018 World Cup semi-final. Now they've done it again.
It's been 24 years since France became European ChampionMbappe was a year and a half old.
England were ready for the quarter-finals on Sunday:
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