France has pirated football. It reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship without a goal in play!
Grigory Telingater July 1, 2024, 21:27 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
And once again an own goal came with a kick. This time it was the Belgian team that suffered.
Euro 2024 is a difficult one for the French national team. This was evident both in the group stage and in the round of 16. In a sense, the game against Belgium was a logical continuation of what we had seen from the French before. Even before the playoffs, Deschamps’ team had not been able to score a single goal in the match (two goals: an own goal and a penalty), but they created plenty of chances. It was the implementation that disappointed me.
It’s the same this time. In the first half, the French led in shots 9-1, but no one saw a goal in the first 45 minutes. Furthermore, there were not only long-range attacks, but also truly dangerous moments. For example, after Kounde’s cross from the right wing, Thuram headed the ball just inside the top corner.
The French found it difficult to break into the opponent’s penalty area with low passes from the three midfielders Rabiot, Kante and Tchouameni. The latter often shot from outside the penalty area. At the same time, the French attack still looked more solid than that of the opponent. For the Belgians, Lukaku and Openda repeatedly failed to catch the ball in front, and Doku rarely found himself in a situation where dribbling made sense. During the entire match, he managed only three successful dribbles out of seven attempts.
Jeremy Docout and Jules Kounde
Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
The Belgian team had its chance in the 61st minute. De Bruyne intercepted the ball, ran on the counterattack and made a cool, penetrating pass to Carrasco. His blow only managed to cover Hernández at the last moment. Immediately afterwards the first substitutions began. The French got Kolo Muani instead of Thuram, and the Belgians got Mangala instead of Openda.
Deschamps’ team continued to possess the ball more frequently and create more dangerous situations in the opposing goal. At some point, Saliba took over the game completely. The central defender in the other’s area took a pass from Doku and shot into the near corner, but missed slightly. The French team’s blows in this Euro Cup are, in principle, difficult to explain. It must also be taken into account that Mbappé took five shots in this match, all of them missed.
Vertonghen rebound
Photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images
The curious thing is that another imprecise blow saved the French. Kolo Muani shot from an awkward position. The ball hit Vertonghen and bounced into the goal. Yes, another own goal at Euro 2024. It’s already the ninth! The 37-year-old defender did not imagine his last major tournament with the national team like this: this goal in the 85th minute was the only one of the game.
France will now face the winner of the Portugal-Slovenia pairing in the quarter-finals on 5 July.
By the way, about the Portuguese team:
Messi is much better than Ronaldo. His performance of him on the Kop and the Euros is incredibly different!
