France was entering the money time of this Euro 2024. Authors of a rather unexciting group stage (2nd in their group), France and Belgium found themselves in the round of 16 in Düsseldorf. The challenge was simple: qualify to face the winner of the Portugal-Slovenia clash in the next round. This Monday, the Red Devils hoped to take revenge for the elimination suffered against Les Bleus in the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. To do this, Domenico Tedesco lined up a very attacking eleven with De Bruyne, Doku, Openda, Carrasco and Lukaku. Opposite, Didier Deschamps had chosen a 4-3-3 without Ousmane Dembélé or Bradley Barcola, but with Antoine Griezmann as right winger, supporting Kylian Mbappé and Marcus Thuram. A repositioning that raised questions since the Colchonero is not exactly known for being a game accelerator like Dembélé or Barcola. This was quickly verified from the start of the game, with Griezmann contributing absolutely nothing. The rest was a treat. Both teams set a very slow pace that made a Sunday morning veterans’ match look like a Champions League match. Was the fear of conceding the first goal paralyzing both sides? Perhaps. Result: the first half was absolutely boring. On the French side, the best were once again Koundé, Upamecano and Saliba. Up front, Griezmann logically did not weigh on the right wing, thus allowing Koundé to have plenty of time to get up. On his left side, Mbappé clearly no longer wanted to accelerate, while in the center, Thuram displayed a pretty crazy technical waste. And to top it all off, our Blues put almost no offensive pressure. In terms of action, it is therefore no surprise that our Blues did not raise the crowds: namely a weak shot in the middle by Griezmann (10th), a blocked attempt by Mbappé (14th), long-range shots off target by Rabiot (20th) and Tchouameni (39th, 45th) and finally a header off target by Thuram on a beautiful cross by Koundé (34th). If you have not seen the first 45 minutes and you are reading this start of a cheesy summary, perhaps you thought that if the French were so timid, it is because they were heckled by the Belgians. Well not at all! During this first period worthy of a nap, the Red Devils did almost nothing either, apart from a free kick from De Bruyne saved at the last moment by Maignan (24th). And there you have it. Curtain. Oh yes. The French went into the break with the certainty that they would not be able to count on Rabiot for a possible quarter-final. Severely warned in the 25th minute, the Juventus player was threatened with suspension in the event of a card.
A poor show
After the break, we were hoping for the best. However, Deschamps’ decision not to make any changes left observers doubtful about a rude awakening for both teams. Well, guess what? They were right! While Casteels pulled out all the stops on a shot from Tchouameni that was going to lodge in his side netting (49th), the pace of the match did not change and the risks taken could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The French, for their part, continued to waste the rare opportunities they had (54th, 56th, 65th, 69th). At the hour mark, when Randal Kolo Muani replaced Thuram, the Blues had only got one of their fifteen shots on target. Despairing. By dint of missing everything up front, Deschamps’ men were logically exposing themselves to a counter-punishment. Without an XXL defensive comeback from Hernandez (61st) and a save from Maignan against Lukaku (71st), Belgium could have pulled off a hold-up. But this match of distressing technical poverty, even the Red Devils did not seem interested in attacking. The more the minutes passed, the more France took care of its offensive statistics (19 shots, 1 on target in the 79th after another off-target attempt by Mbappé). No problem, the most important thing is “that the actions are there”, said the players. During this time, despite a total lack of rhythm, percussion and an opponent who was not very aggressive either, Deschamps decided to keep his arrows (Dembélé, Barcola, Coman) on the bench. But tonight, DD’s famous pet was in the stands in Düsseldorf. After an XXL save from Maignan on a strike from De Bruyne (83rd), Kolo Muani delivered an entire team with an uncontrolled strike, but deflected into his own goal by Vertonghen (1-0, 85th). The top scorer of Euro 2024, CSC, struck again. France can thank him, but the spectacle offered by the Blues against a lackluster Belgium was pitiful. Let us recall that the Tricolores will face Portugal or Slovenia in the next round.
Relive the match film
