France and Poland tied 1-1 in an enthralling match in Euro 2024 on Tuesday. Both goals came from penalty kicks, as star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski each scored from the spot. France entered the game sitting second, just behind the Netherlands, in Group D.
Although both teams had four points in the group, the Dutch side was narrowly ahead on a tiebreaker. This meant that France essentially had to beat Poland to top the group and, in turn, get a favorable round of 16 matchup. The Netherlands played Austria at the same time on Tuesday in Berlin as the France-Poland fixture.
Pregame talk of the massive match in Dortmund surrounded the return of two superstar strikers. Mbappe, donning a mask, was named in France’s starting lineup for the first time since suffering a broken nose on June 17th. On the other side, Lewandowski was making his first start of the tournament after dealing with a thigh issue.
The mask did not seem to hinder Mbappe’s performance
France, knowing they had to perform well on the day, started the match against Poland on the front foot. The tournament favorites racked up plenty of possession and played some slick passes in the opening 20 minutes or so. Theo Hernandez and Ousmane Dembele both had solid scoring chances during this timeframe. Nevertheless, Polish shot-stopper Lukasz Skorupski made quality saves to deny the Blues.
Poland, however, eventually settled into the game and looked more and more dangerous going forward. All five of the team’s midfield and forward players recorded shots in the opening 35 minutes of the match. Much like France though, Poland could not quite manage to put the ball in the back of the net.
The match entered the halftime break scoreless, but not before Skorupski saved a pair of shots from Mbappe. The first opportunity was perhaps the best block by the keeper. As the pacy forward raced towards goal, Skorupski stuck out his hand to make the stop. Overall, the mask did not…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/uefa-euro/mbappe-scores-but-poland-holds-france-to-draw-at-euro-2024/
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-06-25 18:32:52
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