It took a miracle to save the Blues from this sluggish scenario. Caught in a trap match against a totally powerless Belgium in the round of 16 of Euro 2024, the French team needed an improbable stroke of luck from Randal Kolo Muani at the end of the match to win this remake of the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup.
On a good shift from Koundé to N’Golo Kanté, the Blues midfielder found Kolo Muani, who came on at the hour mark in place of Marcus Thuram. In the penalty area, the PSG striker, who had only 25 minutes of playing time in this Euro before this round of 16, played with his body before attempting a soft right-footed shot.
That’s when the miracle happened. Veteran Jan Vertonghen, 37, deflected the ball with his left knee to beat Kim Casteels, who was very unlucky with this action. Randal Kolo Muani’s shot was off target, so it was indeed an own goal that was initially validated by UEFA, the second already for the Blues in the competition out of their three goals scored… A welcome boost.
Follow the post-match live commentary on the leparisien.fr website:
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