Despite the absence of the star player Kylian Mbappé, France and the Netherlands starred in a real football showdown this Friday, although the final 0-0 score left a bittersweet taste for fans following the Eurocup 2024 in Germany.
Mbappé, present on the bench wearing a protective mask after fracturing his nose in the match against Austria, watched the back and forth of a dynamic duel where only the goal shout was missing, although there was one disallowed for the Dutch midfielder Xavi Simmons.
Young Simmons and his teammates celebrated euphorically in the city of Leipzig, but the linesman understood that Denzel Dumfries was offside and obstructed goalkeeper Mike Maignan's path to the ball.
Maignan himself made a spectacular save right at the beginning of the match, when, after 50 seconds, Jeremie Frimpong wasted a golden opportunity in a one-on-one with the French goalkeeper.
Thus, in a classic world cup match, with two extremely offensive lineups, the streak of over 50 games without this score in the European competition was broken. Who would have predicted it? Did the absence of Mbappé on the field weigh so much?
Furthermore, none of the teams were able to secure their spot in the round of 16, and they each have four points at the top of group D, so they will determine their qualification in the final match of this stage.
In the other results of the matchday, Austria crushed Poland, led by the stellar Robert Lewandowski, 3-1, while Ukraine came back to beat Slovakia 2-1 in another thrilling match.
This Saturday's schedule includes the matches Georgia-Czech Republic, Turkey-Portugal, and Belgium-Romania. Without a doubt, the presence of the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo will be one of the main attractions.
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