There is no hiding the truth of this first 0-0 Euro 2024. France, the true favorites, currently lack the final product. It raises questions about whether they will be able to finish this tournament as European champions, although it only adds narrative weight to Kylian Mbappe’s eventual return from his broken nose. He forced France’s only goal at Euro 2024 so far, and that was from an Austrian defender. A promising Netherlands the team had the ball in the back of the net, although this was ruled out in the most debated moment of the game.
That’s not to say it was a bad combination. It was often fascinating, although it lacked more than finishing and the best player in the tournament. That real momentum wasn’t there. Some of this may have been circumstantial.
As good as the game was and as sensational as the tournament as a whole was, perhaps this is where the flaws of the 24-team competition are revealed. There needs to be something about these heavyweight fights. Both know they have a safety net with the passage of four third-placed teams. It wouldn’t be like that if there were just two passing through. There would have been greater tension and perhaps more production.
There is also an interesting question about the French here. Although they had some sumptuous exchanges, and Antonio Griezmann They really should have scored at least once, what they were doing was still out of step with the general tactical trends of the tournament. It’s a different world from the football that Germany and Spain have played. That’s exactly how it is Didier Deschamps want, of course. He has no intention of entertaining football. It’s about getting over it.
Whether this is overdue or whether the path to remaining in the competition really will only be known at the end. At this point it seems a little dated, but it would be a mistake to dismiss this as a reason why they might not end up as champions.
France’s extraordinary strength in depth remains the team’s most important element. It’s just not exactly being maximized on offense right now. Their defense, to be fair, minimizes absolutely everything that happens to them.
It is not out of step with what England are doing now, and discussion has already grown about the different way in which France are analyzed compared to Gareth Southgate’s team. The reasons for this are obvious. They were world champions six years ago and took the last final all the way, in perhaps one of the greatest games of all time. As Deschamps illustrates with their attitude towards defending, they know exactly what they are doing. The same cannot be said of England.
The Dutch discovered it here. They may still be a team that flies under the radar, but ends up being a superior performer. They were not discussed much in the run-up to the tournament, largely because of the team’s youth and Ronald Koeman’s dismissive perceptions. The former, however, means there is a lot of promise there. Jeremie Frimpong has pace that scares any team and changed this game immediately with a run. Tijani Reijnders provided impetus in midfield, while Xavi Simons had a moment where he showed Ousmane Dembele who was boss.
Usually the problem was physicality. There were many moments when the Dutch looked like they were about to face just one of France’s formidable defensive lines, which suddenly consumed all the space and ensured the chance evaporated. William Saliba is especially good at this.
This meant that the Dutch rarely came as close as the French, which was as close as possible without scoring two points.
In the first half, the ball was sent to Marcus Thuram who served Adrien Rabiot. The midfielder had the goal at his mercy, but inexplicably scored for Griezmann. Griezmann was not ready for this and had to adjust his body, just to have the chance to escape. It was similar in the second half, after a sublimely inventive and instinctive move from Thuram sent Ousmane Dembele through. He played for Griezmann, but again it was as if the French weren’t sharp enough.
Deschamps’ team had a good lead at this point, but the game turned around after a disallowed goal. A sudden Dutch attack ended with Xavi Simons hammering the ball into Mike Maignan’s net.
By the letter of the law, however, substitute Denzel Dumfries was stopping Maignon. Perhaps it helped that the goalkeeper immediately pointed at Dumfries, although Anthony Taylor did not resort to the monitor.
After much waiting, and even dialogue with the two captains, the goal ended up being disallowed. Koeman then compounded Xavi’s disappointment by immediately withdrawing him. The truth is that he had disappeared from the game. The game didn’t sustain the same energy.
Both got what they were looking for, as the first 0-0 of the tournament eliminated Poland and Robert Lewandowski.
But the more interesting question is whether it will be enough for France to walk away with the trophy – and the re-emergence of a player could be crucial to that.
