analyse
This European Championship cracker did not keep its promise. The top duel between the Netherlands and France ended on Friday evening (June 21, 2024) without goals and can be summed up briefly and succinctly: started strongly, then faded away.
After the final whistle at the Leipzig Stadium, Ronald Koeman headed straight for Kylian Mbappé. The national coach smiled and patted the “nation’s nose”. He was visibly pleased – about the 0:0 and probably also about the fact that the key player of the “Equipe Tricolore” was unable to play after breaking his nose and spoil the mood for the Netherlands. The Dutch nightmare Mbappé had managed that brilliantly in the two qualifying matches, scoring four goals.
17 attempts, zero hits
But at the European Championships, the French offensive is struggling. As was the case against Austria (1-0 victory thanks to an own goal by Maximilian Wöber), there was a lack of efficiency. This time, 17 shots on goal were not enough to score a goal. This was also due to the quality of the chances: only three of the shots actually hit the target.
Coach Didier Deschamps is not losing sleep over the lack of momentum. “No, I’m not worried,” he said on the podium during the press conference shortly before midnight. “It would be worse,” said Deschamps, “if we hadn’t had any chances.”
Griezmann with the best opportunities
Nevertheless, the problem of exploiting opportunities is obvious. It was hair-raising how many good scoring opportunities were carelessly wasted. Captain Antoine Griezmann was particularly prominent in this regard. He was served the ball twice five meters from the goal, but both times he didn’t make a clean first contact and stumbled. “I had two great chances, but they stuck in my feet. We were good defensively, we were good tactically, now all we need is the damn goal for the attackers,” said the striker angrily.
Leipzig’s Xavi in a rollercoaster of emotions
The fact that “Les Bleus” are still without a goal of their own is not to the coach’s liking either. “We have room for improvement,” he makes clear. These are the only critical words that evening. It is difficult to imagine whether Monsieur Deschamps would have smiled away the goal drought if the supposed goal of the evening by Xavi Simons had not been disallowed by the video referee (72′).
The 21-year-old scored from behind. Clean and unstoppable. A goal in his living room – the RB Leipzig striker went crazy with joy and went from seventh heaven to hell within three minutes. A whistle from the ex-prison guard and current professional referee Anthony Taylor from England put a stop to the goal celebrations of Xavi and the thousands of Oranje fans. After endless checking, the confirmation came from the basement of the Leipzig trade fair: No goal, because Denzel Dumfries was offside when the shot was taken and is said to have obstructed the goalkeeper. A decision that horrified Koeman. “I think the goal was correct,” said the national coach, who was nevertheless “able to live with the result.”
To the live ticker: Netherlands vs France Arrow right 2nd group matchday Arrow right
Koeman: “Not as good as France”
His team was not always at their best and played below their level when they had the ball. The pressing phases, which really stressed the French, were too rare. “We still have to grow and we are not as good as France,” said the former world-class defender. This conclusion was reflected in the numbers. With the exception of the aerial duels won, the Netherlands were inferior in all statistics, but in terms of points they were just as good as France.
This also means that Koeman’s team could even finish first in the difficult Group D. To do so, they would have to win their last group match (June 25, 2024, 6 p.m.) against Austria, and at the same time France would probably not be able to get more than a draw against the already eliminated Poland.
Mbappé stop precautionary measure
If the goal drought continues, that is not far-fetched. After the scoreless draw, the return of exceptional striker Mbappé should be encouraged. If nothing unusual happens, the captain will return – wearing a UEFA-compliant black mask. Xavi already revealed this on the Sportschau microphone. “He’s still in a bit of pain, but he’ll be fine for the next game.”
The fact that Mbappé did not play against the Netherlands was purely a precautionary measure: “If it had been a decisive game, I might have thought twice about bringing him in,” said Deschamps. With four points, the current vice-world champions are right on target.
“Player of the Match”, N’Golo Kanté, left no doubt about the group victory and thought: Brevity is the soul of wit. His appearance lasted 110 seconds and has a good chance of being the shortest press conference of all time. The conclusion: “We dominated the game, we’re a bit sad that we didn’t win, but things are looking good for the future. We want to finish first. That was short, but we have to go now.” He said that and disappeared into the Leipzig night.
