In a heavyweight European Championship match on Friday, Kylian Mbappé was benched as France and the Netherlands ended up with a score of 0-0.
In the opening goalless draw of the tournament, Xavi Simons had a goal disallowed for the Netherlands, and Antoine Griezmann wasted France’s best opportunities.
It leaves both teams on four points in Group D after their second match. It also ensured Poland was the first team eliminated. Poland was beaten by Austria 3-1 earlier Friday and is assured of finishing bottom of the group, even if it beats France in its final group game.
France’s buildup was dominated by speculation on whether Mbappé would play after the team captain broke his nose in their opening 1-0 win over Austria.
Coach Didier Deschamps expressed optimism about Mbappé’s availability after seeing him workout on Thursday while donning a face mask. However, it appears that Deschamps determined it was not worth the gamble to start Mbappé in a match that his team did not need to win.
Following the interval, France exerted their most pressure through goals from Aurélien Tchouaméni, Bart Verbruggen, and Ousmane Dembélé. Griezmann was denied by Verbruggen from close range.
Mike Maignan stopped Memphis Depay’s attempt, and Xavi then scored on a rebound at the other end in the 69th. But Dutch celebrations were short-lived as Denzel Dumfries, offside, blocked Maignan’s attempt to stop Xavi’s strike.
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