One of the tournament favorites, France, eliminated Belgium with a narrow 1-0 victory at the stadium in Düsseldorf. Due to the huge anticipation, the expected spectacle between the footballing powers did not materialize. The deadlock was finally broken a few minutes before the final whistle, when substitute Randal Kolo Muani scored the priceless winner after a lucky deflection.
Didier Deschamps’ team is now thinking about Friday night, when they will face Portugal in a battle for a place in the semi-finals. For Belgium, on the other hand, there is the disappointment of yet another unfulfilled expectation.
The crowd in Düsseldorf was not impressed by the opening minutes of the big game, as both teams decided not to rush their offensive actions. The first more interesting event came around the fifth minute, when Mike Maignan had to come out far from his goal to clear a cross intended for Openda into touch.
Antoine Griezmann tried to do something different in a French attack in the 9th minute, but his hybrid attempt between a shot and a pass was easily caught by Koen Casteels.
Kylian Mbappe hinted at the important role he would play in this match when he fought for the ball in the penalty area from a corner. The France captain took a shot, but it went over the crossbar.
Belgium, albeit a bit lucky, could have taken the lead in the 24th minute. Kevin De Bruyne then delivered a tricky ball from a foul. The ball was not touched by any player in the penalty area, which forced the French goalkeeper to make an exotic and quite risky save with his foot.
The Belgian stars were furious with the referee, demanding a straight red card for their opponent Adrien Rabiot in the 27th minute. The midfielder then made a very tough tackle on Doku, who started to writhe in pain on the grass. Nyberg quickly consulted with his colleagues in the VAR room, but no harsher punishment than a yellow card was forthcoming.
“Les Bleus” launched an excellent attack down the flank, which ended with a cross to Thuram in the 33rd minute. Like a true striker, the French star headed the ball, but only past the right post of Casteels.
The end of the first half came with relentless action from Kylian Mbappe, who refused to let Doku take the ball from him near the touchline. The star managed to return the ball to the penalty area, where Aurélien Tchouaméni found himself in the right place. The defensive midfielder’s shot, however, went high over the Belgian goal.
Aurélien Tchouaméni was again the player who came closest to scoring for France. This happened shortly after the resumption of play, when his long-range shot from medium distance forced Casteels to make a top-class save.
Mbappe tried to create a chance for himself in the 53rd minute, when his run from the flank ended with a shot that, like his others so far, failed to find the back of the “Red Devils” net.
20 minutes before the end of regular time, Romelu Lukaku finally showed something meaningful in front of the French goal. Naturally, as tradition dictates, everything ended with a miss from the big man, as his diagonal shot was firmly repelled by Maignan.
With the strikers playing like extras, it was time for France’s central defender, William Saliba, to try his luck in front of goal. However, he, like everyone else on the pitch, also lacked the necessary accuracy.
Whether it was because of the mask or simply bad luck, Mbappe continued to struggle in attack. In the 78th minute, the captain again failed to find the back of the Belgian net, with Casteels not even having to make a save.
Extra time was already looming on the horizon before the star of Belgium, Kevin De Bruyne, took matters into his own hands. The midfielder decided to test the French goalkeeper with an excellent shot from the edge of the box. Maignan was expecting such a development and again parried. There was also no Belgian player who even attempted to score a rebound.
Well, something unexpected had to happen to break the deadlock. Six minutes before the final whistle, fate smiled on the French, who took the priceless lead, not without a huge dose of sporting luck. “Les Bleus” carried out a long attack, in which it seemed that the well-organized Belgian defense could not be broken. Ngolo Kanté, however, found a gap to substitute Kolo Muani. The goalscorer turned against Vertonghen and took a mediocre shot, but it deflected off the veteran’s leg and fatally deceived Casteels for 1-0.
The Belgians did not have enough time to respond in the end, and despite the substitutions made by Tedesco, everything ended in the worst way possible for the “Red Devils”.
And if you want to try your luck, or have a gut feeling about the final result of one of the Euro 2024 matches, do it with the help of our trusted partner BetMGM by clicking on the banner below: