While all eyes might have fallen on the Red Bull Arena on Friday night, the Netherlands and France played out a 0-0 stalemate in Leipzig.
Although both of the European giants might have all but officially wrapped up a EURO 24 knockout stage ticket, Holland and Les Bleus would have been disappointed by their respective toothless performances here.
While France might have squandered a handful of golden chances throughout the first-half, it was Ronald Koeman’s camp who will be most frustrated as Xavi Simons saw his strike controversially ruled out following a lengthy VAR check by England referee Anthony Taylor.
The 21-year-old’s thunderous effort was disallowed by the on-field officials for an apparent obstruction on the goalkeeper by Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries, who was standing in an offside position.
Both of Friday’s opponents have now collected four points from their first two Group D appearances, while their 0-0 stalemate in Leipzig also officially eliminated Poland from this summer’s tournament.
In what was the first goalless draw of EURO 24, we have taken a look at the main talking points from the Red Bull Arena.
Attacking issues still a headache for Les Bleus
Suffering major heartbreak out in the Middle East 18 months ago as they relinquished their world crown to South American giants Argentina, France made it no secret that they were seeking an immediate response on the major tournament stage this summer.
However, while Les Bleus might have opened their EURO 24 adventure with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Austria last weekend, the European heavyweights have failed to click into top gear.
Watching both Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann squander respective golden opportunities during the first-half, Didier Deschamps’ side have yet to make a real statement of intent over in Germany so far this summer.
Although the now-former world champions might still be pencilled in alongside the likes of England as the standout…
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Author : Tom Dunstan
Publish date : 2024-06-22 00:35:26
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