Euro 2024: Eliminated Poland hold France
France 1 - 1 Poland
A masked Kylian Mbappe scored his first Euro 2024 goal, but France were held to a draw by an already-eliminated Poland, resulting in a second-place finish in Group D.
France needed a win to secure the top spot, but Robert Lewandowski's penalty in the 79th minute cancelled out Mbappe’s earlier goal, scored from a penalty 11 minutes into the second half.
Ralf Rangnick's Austria put on a brilliant performance to beat the Netherlands 3-2, topping the group, while the Dutch finished third.
France, now in the same half of the draw as Portugal, Spain, and Germany, will face the runner-up in Group E.
Mbappe, returning to the starting line-up with a protective mask after breaking his nose, finally scored his first European Championship goal to put France ahead.
Ousmane Dembele was fouled in the area by Poland and Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior, allowing Mbappe to score from the spot.
However, France seemed to relax after the goal, and Dayot Upamecano's clumsy challenge gave Lewandowski the chance to equalise with a penalty.
Although Mike Maignan initially saved Lewandowski's penalty, he had stepped off his line too early, and the Polish captain made no mistake with the retake, scoring his fourth goal in European Championships, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric in this achievement.
The crowd in the scorching Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund finally saw a French goal when Mbappe scored in the 56th minute. He celebrated his 48th goal for France by ripping off his protective mask, and it seemed Deschamps' side was heading towards the top spot in Group D.
EURO 2024
— Sven Dörrbecker (@doerrby) June 25, 2024
France v Poland
Dortmund pic.twitter.com/x6DLOj5rA6
However, Poland, finishing bottom of the group and heading home the next day, had other plans, surprising the 2022 World Cup finalists.
Upamecano, who has spent much of the season on Bayern Munich's bench, made the defensive error leading to the penalty with a clumsy tackle on Karol Swiderski.
Lewandowski's initial attempt was saved by Maignan, but the French keeper had moved off his line too early, and the Polish striker converted the second attempt.
Despite dominating possession with 58% and having 19 shots on goal, France struggled to create clear chances to win the game.
Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski performed well, and France heads into the knockout stage having scored only twice in their three group matches, one of which was an own goal.
With Mbappe just one goal away from Michel Platini's French record of 14 in major tournaments, France relies heavily on him, but he needs more support if they are to advance further.
Ousmane Dembele showed occasional promise on the right wing but has yet to score for France in a major tournament. On the whole, Deschamps knows his team must quickly find their form if they hope to go all the way in Germany.
The highlights from Group D at Euro 2024
Euro 2024: Austria stun Netherlands and top Group D (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
Euro 2024: Netherlands and France play out a draw (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
