In a 0-0 draw on Friday in Group D of Euro 2024, France and the Netherlands played it safe, keeping themselves in contention for a spot in the round of 16, while Poland was eliminated first.
The game erupted into fits and starts, with France captain Kylian Mbappé on the sidelines following his broken nose in their opening encounter, but it never threatened to become a classic.
Both teams wasted opportunities and enjoyed spells of dominance, but they were unable to break through and in the second half, they seemed satisfied to settle for a point.
Dutchman Xavi Simons had the ball in the net in the second half, but the goal was disallowed because Denzel Dumfries was penalised for standing offside next to custodian Mike Maignan. The decision was confirmed by VAR after a thorough review. This was the only dramatic moment of the game after the break.
The outcome leaves the group wide open, but with four points secured, both France and the Netherlands will believe they have done just enough to go to the round of sixteen.
The Netherlands will play the Austrians, who have three points, while France will play Poland, who has no points after losing 3-1 to Austria earlier on Friday. Tuesday is when both games will take place.
Koeman would have been somewhat relieved, then, to see Mbappe, who had scored four goals in his previous two games against the Dutch, sitting on the bench as the team sheets were revealed.
France’s manager, Didier Deschamps, made the decision not to jeopardise his most valuable player, but his team was obviously lacking its captain as they had only managed one goal in their first two games.
The opening half was frantic at moments, with the Dutch coming near as soon as Maignan turned Jeremie Frimpong’s effort around the post and Antoine Griezmann palming over an early chance at the other end.
Minutes later, Griezmann should have given France the lead after Adrien Rabiot was sent through on goal but strangely passed to him. Startled by his generosity, Griezmann lost control, staggered, and mishandled the ball.
Griezmann assumed the role of France’s star player when Mbappé was sidelined. He missed another opportunity and headed directly at goalie Bart Verbruggen after Rabiot crossed the ball.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, did not appear to pose much of a threat; the most of their attacks ended in failure, and none of their forwards managed to produce a clear pass when the penalty area came into sight.
France picked up the pace in the second half, with Marcus Thuram missing a chance on the hour, Aurélien Tchouaméni headed over, and Griezmann being caught off balance once more by Verbruggen at close range.
After Simons fired a shot into the net, the Dutch felt they had finally broken the deadlock, but the linesman’s flag and VAR shattered their hopes.
The draw benefited both teams, since the four highest placing finishers advanced to the round of 16. The absence of jeopardy sapped some of the intensity from the match as it approached a standstill.
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