France were clumsy for a long time this Monday in Düsseldorf but ended up defeating Belgium to reach the quarter-finals (1-0). A late own goal from Jan Vertonghen provoked by Randal Kolo Muani (85th) was enough to make Didier Deschamps’ team happy. Les Bleus will face the winner of the duel between Portugal and Slovenia, played this Monday evening (at 9 p.m.), July 5 in Hamburg.
The match: 1-0
France and Belgium were not the most spectacular teams in the group stage, far from it, and this round of 16 of the Euro reflected their limits and the ambitions of two blocks above all obsessed with solidity. The seventy-sixth confrontation between the two nations was not therefore the most hectic in this long history, but this episode will fuel a little more the rivalry and frustration of the Belgians, still defeated in the cruelest of ways, on a own goal from Jan Vertonghen, who deflected a cross from Randal Kolo Muani (85th).
Here are the Blues in the quarter-finals of the Euro, against Portugal or Slovenia who will face each other this evening, and they will have suffered enormously to achieve this, facing the Red Devils who did not come to Düsseldorf to take the lower risk. It was still they who were dangerous first, with an off-center free kick from Kevin De Bruyne whose trajectory surprised Maignan, forced to clear the ball with his foot on his line (24th). The rare thrills then came from the French, with a header from Marcus Thuram not far from the top corner, receiving a beautiful cross from Jules Koundé (34th), and a strike from Aurélien Tchouaméni above after a lot of work from Kylian Mbappé in the area (45th + 1).
Only one shot on target from nine attempts, in this case a too soft shot from Antoine Griezmann (10th), the record was depressing at half-time but the second half started better thanks to Tchouaméni, who finally gave Casteels some work, forced to lie down to deflect his shot for a corner (49th). The Belgian goalkeeper also saw shots from Mbappé (54th, 78th), Tchouaméni (69th) go over, and it was Maignan who had to shine to push away a powerful shot from Lukaku (71st).
It was tense, it was nerve-wracking, and the exit of the disappointing Marcus Thuram in favor of Kolo Muani (62nd) had not transcended the Blues, again saved by Maignan, solid against a missile from Bruyne (83rd). Two minutes later, the light finally came and the relief was on a par with the boredom, which was quite immense.
0
Belgium have not won any of their five matches played against France in major tournaments (World Cup and Euro).
