NEW DELHI: France and the Netherlands moved a step closer to the last 16 of Euro 2024 on Friday with a 0-0 draw in Leipzig, as Kylian Mbappe sat out the match due to a broken nose.
Kylian Mbappe, who recently joined Real Madrid, was kept as an unused substitute by France’s coach Didier Deschamps. Mbappe wore a mask in training after sustaining a broken nose in the opening game. Didier Deschamps included him in the squad but chose not to risk further injury to his star striker, given that the knockout phase appeared largely assured.
"Of course Kylian is one of the best players in the world, so a player like that who is not on the pitch is a loss for us. But other players performed really well," France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was quoted as saying by AFP after the match. "We hope he comes back as soon as possible."
Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons had a goal controversially ruled out for offside in the second half. Antoine Griezmann, captaining the French team in Mbappe’s absence, missed two key opportunities to score.
Simons thought he had put the Netherlands ahead with 20 minutes left, but Denzel Dumfries was ruled to be interfering with French goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check.
Poland became the first team to be eliminated from Euro 2024 after their 3-1 loss to Austria and the subsequent draw between France and the Netherlands. Poland will face France in their final group match on Tuesday. Both France and the Netherlands are tied with four points at the top of Group D and will seek to secure their places in the knockout round in their next matches.
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