NetherlandsFrance
The clash between the Netherlands and France did not produce a winner. France had the best chances, but the Netherlands saw a goal by Xavi Simons disallowed due to offside. Kylian Mbappé did not play despite wearing a mask for his broken nose.
Netherlands – France in a nutshell:
Without goal scorers, it makes sense to look at the goalkeepers. Bart Verbruggen stood out somewhat. His 3 saves were much needed to keep the score at 0. He also played well in the build-up.
20 minutes before the end, the Netherlands seemed to take the lead, completely against the flow of the game. Xavi Simons scores, but Dumfries is offside and hinders Maignan. The ball seemed to be already out of reach for the French goalkeeper.
Kylian Mbappé did not come off the bench. He had not yet fully trained with the French and was therefore not yet fit enough to play. The star player did appear during the warm-up with a nose mask.
For Ronald Koeman it is his first draw in his second period as national coach of the Dutch team. In the 14 previous matches there were 9 wins and 5 defeats.
No goals in a high-quality initial phase
The Netherlands and France met in one of the group stage posters. It was a top match without a top player. Kylian Mbappé was not in the starting line-up after his nose fracture.
After exactly 1 minute, Mike Maignan had to intervene on Frimpong’s cracked shot. Colleague Bart Verbruggen also took action shortly afterwards. He parried a long shot from Antoine Griezmann.
After fifteen minutes, Adrien Rabiot had a huge chance. Close to goal he came face to face with Verbruggen, but he decided to pass to Griezmann, who failed to shoot.
Cody Gakpo quickly made it 1-0. A save from Maignan was crucial with the aimed shot.
France does move on
Opportunities were limited in the rest of the first half. Marcus Thuram shot wildly over and wide. Just before half time, Griezmann headed towards goal, but Verbruggen was able to easily clamp the ball.
The Netherlands was certainly the equal. It attacked a lot faster with Frimpong and Simons as instigators. It no longer provided opportunities.
Just as much spectacle after rest? Not immediately.
The pace disappeared somewhat from the game, until France took control on the hour mark. Thuram (next) and Tchouaméni (over) decided moderately.
Antoine Griezmann came very close to the opening goal. Verbruggen was able to prevent the 0-1 again with a leg sweep.
Line judge ruins orange party
It was actually on the other side of the field that the nets were shaking.
Maignan parried an attempt by Memphis Depay, but had to turn away from a shot by Xavi Simons.
The Dutch party was short-lived. The line judge flagged for offside. Dumfries stood close to the French goalkeeper and prevented Maignan from diving for the ball. So still 0-0.
France had lost its momentum. It brought fresh men, but Kylian Mbappé remained on the bench. He had to ensure that little happened in the final phase.
Les Bleus looked for the goal the most, but the score remained unchanged. For example, the Netherlands and France now lead together in group D and both teams are not yet completely certain of the 1/8th finals.
Van Dijk: “Disallowed goal was valid”
- Antoine Griezmann (France): “It’s a real shame. Tactically we did well. Now we have to stay calm. It will be fine.”
- Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands): “We can live with a point. It’s a good thing. The goal that was disallowed was a valid goal according to what I saw. We were down at the time, but it’s not surprising that you had difficult goals against France phases. We came out well on the counter a few times. It could have been a little better, but we still have it in our own hands.”
Phase by phase
No winner in topper
The Netherlands and France cannot outwit each other. There were opportunities, especially before half time. The pace was a lot slower in the second half. Just when Les Bleus came close to 0-1, the Dutch team scored. The line judge (correctly) saw offside. Dumfries ruined Xavi Simons’ party. The goals were not forthcoming and the first 0-0 of the European Championship became a fact.
The Netherlands are quietly ticking around at the back. It settles for a draw.
An extra 5 minutes will be added.
Despite the long pause at the disallowed goal, ‘only’ 5 minutes are added. France still has the best chance of scoring the winning goal.
Still France
Four minutes before the end, France wakes up. Giroud lays off with the head, but just cannot reach Griezmann. Veerman intervened well.
Walking football
The match is heading for a spectacle score. The Netherlands now has the ball, but does very little with it.
This contains inserted content from a social media network that wants to write or read cookies (Qualifio). You have not given permission for this.
Click here to still allow this
Depay out, Weghorst in
Super sub Wout Weghorst is allowed to play football for another fifteen minutes. Striking: in the past three matches for the Dutch team, he always scored after coming on as a substitute.
It was a bit of a shock for France when the goal was disallowed. The heyday of Les Bleus is soon over.
Giroud is here
Didier Deschamps also intervenes. Experienced striker Olivier Giroud makes his appearance. Kylian Mbappé will remain seated for the time being.
Three substitutions at once
Near-goal scorer Xavi Simons goes to the bench. The match is also over for Frimpong and Schouten. Wijnaldum, Geertruida and Veerman join in.
Xavi Simons kicks the ball into the net, but sees his goal disallowed for offside
2024-06-21 20:38:16
#European #Championship #Netherlands #France #provide #spectacle
