Les Bleus send the Red Devils home and reach the quarter-finals of the Euro

The French team beat Belgium (1-0) this Monday and qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 in Germany. After many shots off target, the Blues made the difference with an own goal by Jan Vertonghen on a deflected shot from Randal Kolo Muani.

France remains Belgium’s bête noire. After the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 Nations League, the Blues beat the Red Devils again this Monday in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 (1-0).

At the end of a suspenseful and rather stressful match, if not always spectacular, deliverance came from an own goal by Jan Vertonghen. Unlucky, the Belgian defender deflected a shot from Randal Kolo Muani into his goal. Kylian Mbappé’s partners will challenge the winner of the eighth between Portugal and Slovenia.

>> Relive France-Belgium (1-0)

The Blues still struggling in attack

The first real chance finally came on Mike Maignan’s goal. On a free kick taken from the left side of the area, Kevin De Bruyne came close to opening the score. His cross-shot that no one managed to deflect almost deceived “Magic Mike” but the French goalkeeper made a nice (not very academic) save with his foot to avert the danger (0-0, 24th).

On the French side, there were few offensive actions to sink our teeth into, except for a header from Marcus Thuram. Not very well-found, the Inter and Les Bleus striker failed to hit the target (0-0, 34th). For the rest, nothing or almost nothing, with Aurélien Tchouaméni’s long-range shot narrowly missing (0-0, 39th). The Real Madrid midfielder once again caused a slight shiver but his heavy strike went well over (0-0, 45th+1). While France had eight shots on goal before the break, only one attempt found the target of a relatively untroubled Koen Casteels.

Hernandez and Maignan saved France

Ineffective, the Blues still showed more than the Belgians. Apart from Kevin De Bruyne’s strike, the Red Devils were mostly content to defend. Despite a very attacking eleven on paper, Domenico Tedesco’s protégés often played with eleven men in their own half of the pitch and Jérémy Doku’s flashes of brilliance were not enough to make the difference.

As against Poland, the French continued to insist after the break. On a nice strike from Aurélien Tchouaméni, slightly deflected by Wout Faes, Koen Casteels deflected it well for a corner. A few moments later, Marcus Thuram again missed the target with his header (0-0, 51st). Having been relatively out of sight until then, Kylian Mbappé then outpaced the Belgian defense but sent his attempt over the goal.

The French strikes multiplied but without hitting the target and Belgium almost took advantage. Without a sensational tackle from Théo Hernandez in his area, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco would have found himself alone at close range against Mike Maignan (0-0, 61st).

Kolo Muani (well helped) delivered France

A little later, it was the French goalkeeper’s turn to shine. First on a strike from Romelu Lukaku (0-0, 70th) then especially on a big strike from Kevin De Bruyne in the last minutes of regulation time (0-0, 83rd).

The Belgians tried to make the difference at the end of the match but were ultimately trapped. On a well-managed counterattack by N’Golo Kanté, Jules Koundé temporized and found Randal Kolo Muani in the Belgian area. By managing to turn and strike, the PSG striker forced Jan Vertonghen to score an own goal (1-0, 85th). A fairly logical goal that rewards the overall domination of the Blues. France will face the winner of the eighth between Portugal and Slovenia, Friday July 5 at 9 p.m.