Kylian Mbappe made his return from broken nose, sitting out the opening goalless draw of Euro 2024 between France and Netherlands. Both teams currently are tied at four points each but a Dutch victory against Austria could secure top spot.
N’Golo Kante forced Mike Maignan into an impressive save before Marcus Thuram, Antoine Griezmann and Aurelien Tchouameni had opportunities for France.
Player ratings
An exciting Group D match between two of the tournament favorites – both currently at three points each – promises to be thrilling. Kylian Mbappe may find some relief being named on the bench but should still cause problems for Netherlands National Football Team Vs France National Football Team Player Ratings.
The game proved more tense and captivating than expected, especially during France’s dominant first half performance, but France blew a great opportunity when Adrien Rabiot made a break through and squared to Antoine Griezmann who miscued and overcooked his shot.
The second half was marked by chances on both sides, as Memphis Depay fired his free-kick wide and Marcus Thuram hit the crossbar as both teams struggled to find their attacking groove. VAR disallowed an excellent strike by Xavi Simons as Denzel Dumfries had obscured Mike Maignan’s view. Cody Gakpo also proved dangerous as his pace troubled Bart Verbruggen; additionally he completed 113 passes – including 16 into the final third – making an impressionful central role alongside Henning Berg and Julian Reijnders.
Netherlands Team Performance
Virgil van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij are two solid defensive bases for the Netherlands. Stefan de Vrij has excellent ball coverage abilities when his side attack down the left flank.
Xavi Simons, Joey Veerman and Georginio Wijnaldum provide attacking midfield options for the Netherlands from midfield – and have scored in each game they’ve started at Euro 2024 so far.
Dutch opponents France are expected to exert significant pressure in the final third of the pitch, where they previously struggled against Poland and Austria. Their approach must be more forceful.
Kylian Mbappe will start on the bench for France’s game tonight after colliding with Austria defender Kevin Danso during their 1-0 victory. Real Madrid star Mbappe has been fitted with a mask to protect his broken nose, with expectations he may return for Sunday’s matchup against Argentina. Didier Deschamps was right not to risk such an important matchup.
France Team Performance
France did well to keep pace with the Netherlands despite missing Kylian Mbappe, with several opportunities created, but Adrien Rabiot’s pass to Griezmann (Chelsea midfielder who should have scored had Bart Verbruggen not closed him down quickly) being most notable in that regard.
Griezmann did not appear at his best during this game, misfiring several free kicks and failing to hit the target with other attempts. He looked uncomfortable without having the ball at his feet and displayed some poor first touch when trying to break through Dutch defense and his initial attempt failed.
N’Golo Kante played brilliantly and helped keep the game compact. He completed 113 passes – 16 into the final third alone! – while also managing three recoveries and one tackle. William Saliba did well to stay with Frimpong early on and only lost possession once all night long.
Highlights
Virgil van Dijk excelled in the Netherlands defence while N’Golo Kante played an essential role for France both defensively and offensively.
Memphis Depay was the shining light for Netherlands and he created many chances, but often failed to capitalize. Xavi Simons provided another threat; Denzel Dumfries met Simon’s low cross from left side which was met by referee as offside.
Second half action saw both teams trading chances. Cody Gakpo made his way past France’s defense to create an opportunity, only for Maignan’s deflection to go wide of goal. France applied pressure with Antoine Griezmann shooting over from range and Adrien Rabiot nearly scoring when clear through on goal but overcooked his pass across goal face – both teams will likely be pleased with a draw as neither was able to score their way forward; Kylian Mbappe attended but wore a mask due to his nose injury despite attending as both parties will surely have enjoyed it
Final words
An goalless draw at Euro 2024 Group D would be in neither team’s interest as they fight for top spot. In their opening matchup against Robert Lewandowski-less Poland, Netherlands prevailed 2-1 with strong efforts by Kylian Mbappe despite suffering a broken nose; Didier Deschamps therefore decided not to include him on Les Bleus starting eleven.
Ronald Koeman introduces Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga winner Jeremie Frimpong as part of his strategy to add to Oranje’s attacking options. Frimpong creates the opening chance of the match when he bursts free from Theo Hernandez but Maignan gets down well to block his shot.
Adrien Rabiot had the chance to put France well out of reach in this match but his pass to Antoine Griezmann just missed its target. Both teams will likely be happy with a point. A goal scored by Simons for the Netherlands was controversially disallowed due to offside, adding yet another momentous twist to an already explosive night’s footballing entertainment.
