FRANCE V BELGIUM EURO 2024 PLAYER RATINGS: KANTE 8, MBAPPE 7; DE BRUYNE 7, LUKAKU 6
Jan Vertonghen's late own goal took France into the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Monday as they edged Belgium 1-0 in a tense tie in Dusseldorf.
France had dominated the last-16 clash but their profligate finishing looked set to force extra time until they finally found a way through with five minutes left.
Substitute Randal Kolo Muani collected the ball inside the Belgian penalty area and hit a shot that was going wide until a deflection off the unfortunate Vertonghen took it past goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
The lucky break sent the 2022 World Cup runners-up into a last-eight tie in Hamburg on Friday – where they will take on Portugal, who edged past Slovenia on penalties, as they remain on course to become European champions for the third time.
France are yet to score from open play in four matches at the tournament – captain Kylian Mbappe netted once from a penalty against Poland, while their other two goals came from opposition defenders.
Crucially, however, they are rock solid in defence, having conceded only one goal, from a penalty, so far. Their back line was outstanding against Romelu Lukaku and his fellow attackers, and Belgium bow out after what will go down as a disappointing tournament for them.
“I was surprised by how Belgium played,” said France right-back Jules Kounde, who was named as player of the match. “I thought they'd be more attacking, especially when I saw the line-up. But we have players like Kylian or Antoine [Griezmann] who can make defenders a little more wary.
“For me, this was our best performance of the competition. We created a lot of chances, we played a comprehensive game, and the goal at the end made sure all our efforts were worth it.”
Manager Didier Deschamps added: “We made a lot of progress and our opponents were obviously cautious, even if they're an attacking team on paper.
“We did everything we could to create chances, and we created more than them, but we played the waiting game and didn't fall into their trap. I liked that, but obviously you can't win through possession alone. I'd like us to create more chances.”
Belgium head home after a fairly miserable Euro 2024, during which the players were jeered loudly by their own fans following a 0-0 draw with Ukraine at the end of the group stage.
Belgium captain Kevin de Bruyne was deployed as a deep-lying midfielder in a bid to help control the game, with the Belgians intent on not leaving it open for France's quick attackers such as Mbappe.
The tactic would have been a masterstroke had Belgium won. They didn't, and more criticism is likely heading coach Domenico Tedesco's way.
De Bruyne said: “We had a plan today and I think we did well. We knew that with France's quality we wouldn't have too much of the ball but there were moments where we were dangerous. It's a shame to concede a goal like that but that's football.”
