The French national team narrowly won over the Belgian national team in the last 16 of Euro 2024 at the Dusseldorf Arena, Monday (01/07/2024).
This match was quite boring in the first half. In the second half the match became a little more interesting.
Both teams started to create a number of opportunities. However, only one goal was scored, namely through Jan Vertonghen’s suicide.
This result ensures that France will enter the quarter-finals and will meet the winner of the Portugal vs Slovenia match. Meanwhile, Belgium of course had to return home.
At the start of the match, France and Belgium immediately showed their intention to play attacking. However, after a while, this match was controlled by Les Blues.
They controlled the match but had difficulty creating dangerous opportunities in the Belgian defense. Griezmann fired a shot from outside the penalty box in the 13th minute but the ball went straight into Casteels’ arms.
In the 23rd minute Belgium received a free kick on the right outside the French penalty box, after Griezmann fouled Doku. De Bruyne’s ball hit a French player and headed straight for Maignan. He was quite surprised by the direction the ball was coming from and was forced to block it with his feet.
In the 33rd minute, France finally got a good chance. Kounde sent in a cross from the right and Thuram headed the ball in the near post area. Unfortunately the ball narrowly missed the target.
45+1 minutes France had a chance to shoot after receiving a pass from Mbappe. But the ball bounced off target.
In the end, no goals were created in this first half. France 0-0 Belgium.
In the second half, both teams did not change their personnel. France itself tried to regain control of the game and put pressure on Belgium.
In the 48th minute, Tchouameni threatened the Belgian goal again. He fired a curling shot from outside the penalty box. The ball hit Wout Faes and turned slightly but was still pushed out of the field by Casteels.
In the 62nd minute Carrasco received a through ball from De Bruyne and entered the penalty box in the right halfspace. Unfortunately, he shot late and the ball was swept by Theo first.
The 70th minute of Belgium’s attack produced an opportunity for Lukaku to shoot from inside the penalty box in the left halfspace. The ball hit a French defender but was blocked by Maignan.
In the 74th minute, France got a chance. Lintasa, who was moving forward, was able to pass Doku in the right halfspace of the penalty box and then fired a left footed shot. Unfortunately the ball just shot to the outside of the goal.
In the 82nd minute, Belgium got a chance from De Bruyne’s kick after successfully attacking from the left side. He cut into the middle and then fired a low shot but the ball was blocked by Maignan.
The goal was finally scored in the 85th minute. Initially Belgium’s attack failed and France put pressure back on from the left side and the ball was rolled to the right side of the field. Kounde passed the ball to Kante and then to Randal Kolo Muani. Kolo Muani turned around and then fired a shot that wasn’t too hard. The ball hit Vertonghen and turned without Casteels being able to stop it. 1-0!
In the remaining time, Belgium tried to suppress the French defense. Unfortunately they couldn’t score additional goals. Finally the score 1-0 lasted until the end.
