Kylian Mbappe stays out of the impasse between France and the Netherlands

France and the Netherlands advanced to the round of 16 of Euro 2024 after a 0-0 draw in Leipzig, which failed to catch fire in the absence of Kylian Mbappe. The French captain was left off the bench for the entire match after breaking his nose in France’s 1-0 victory over Austria just four days ago. Xavi Simons had a goal controversially disallowed for the Dutch, while Antoine Griezmann wasted two glorious opportunities for France. A share of the spoils leaves the teams level on four points at the top of Group D, one ahead of Austria, who beat Poland 3-1 on Friday. France face the Poles, while the Netherlands face Austria in the final group games on Tuesday.

Les Bleus won both meetings when these teams met in the qualifying phase, but Mbappe scored four of France’s six goals in those games.

Backed by an orange wall about two-thirds of the way into the Leipzig Stadium, the Dutch almost attacked any French uncertainty within a minute.

Jeremie Frimpong’s explosive pace left him free to score, but the Bayer Leverkusen man was unable to finish cleanly and Mike Maignan deflected his shot behind.

Aurelien Tchouameni replaced Mbappe in France’s only change as coach Didier Deschamps sought the security of an extra midfielder.

Without a captain and talisman, the 2022 World Cup finalists turned to Griezmann for inspiration.

The substitute captain stung Bart Verbruggen’s palms from a distance.

But the Atletico Madrid striker had a moment to forget, with his greatest chance of opening the scoring before half-time.

A tricky move made by Adrien Rabiot, but when he decided to pass instead of shoot, Griezmann was unable to connect with his weaker right foot.

At the other end, Maignan had to make another good low save to his left to deflect Cody Gakpo’s shot.

France had the best chances in the second period.

Marcus Thuram shot wide from the edge of the box before Tchouameni was unable to keep his header in check.

The normally reliable Griezmann was guilty of another big miss when his weak shot was deflected by Verbruggen with the goal open.

But the main talking point of the tournament’s first goalless draw was the victory denied to the Dutch.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Simons fired in the rebound after Maignan saved from Memphis Depay 18 minutes from time.

The goal was disallowed by the on-field referees for offside, as Denzel Dumfries was deemed to be interfering with Maignan’s ability to stop the shot.

After a lengthy VAR check, which has been a welcome rarity in the tournament so far, the offside was confirmed and France granted a postponement.

Deschamps rejected the chance to risk Mbappe in the finals, instead sending Olivier Giroud and Kingsley Coman in search of a winner.

But both sides settled for a point that is already likely enough to guarantee progress to the last 16, thanks to the safety net that allows the four best third-placed teams to advance.

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