Misfiring France edged into the quarter-finals of Uefa Euro 2024 courtesy of Jan Vertonghen’s 85th-minute own goal in a cagey contest with Belgium in Dusseldorf.
Randal Kolo Muani’s strike on the turn was deflected past goalkeeper Koen Casteels by veteran defender Vertonghen’s knee, settling a game which seemed destined for extra time despite the array of attacking stars involved.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne struggled to find their range during a tame first half containing little to trouble Casteels and Bleus counterpart Mike Maignan, with Marcus Thuram heading an inviting Jules Kounde cross wide.
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France vs Belgium: Goals desert sides
The intensity increased modestly after the break, Aurelien Tchouameni drawing a save from Casteels before Maignan made saves from Lukaku and De Bruyne.
France are considered favourites for the title by many but their curiously flat start to the finals continued as their wait for a goal from open play in Germany went on.
The best that could be said for Didier Deschamps’ 2022 Fifa World Cup finalists is that the scoreline was probably fair in their forgettable fourth game, Belgium offering little more and finishing on an expected goals tally of 0.23.
Our #EURO2024 ends here. 😤 #FRABEL #WirSchaffenDas pic.twitter.com/OyIMr1ITiN
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 1, 2024
Mbappe toils at Euro 2024
The victors had 19 of the 24 shots between the teams but only two on target, Mbappe again looking short of his menacing best.
Real Madrid’s marquee post-season signing is yet to score a Euro goal from open play and appeared occasionally annoyed by the face mask he is playing in as a result of suffering a broken nose during France’s opening win over Austria.
That game was also decided by an own goal but France may have to do more to decide their destiny in the quarter-finals, in which they will face Portugal or Slovenia in Hamburg on July 5.
Tedesco Belgium future uncertain
For Belgium, a poor campaign with murmurmings of disquiet in their camp came to an end with a whimper, although Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne may feel he should have put them ahead.
The Belgian FA has backed head coach Domenico Tedesco during the tournament but the Italian-German’s contract is coming to a close and his case for continuing is not strong on the evidence of their displays.
An assured 2-0 win over Romania in their second game was their only promising performance, arriving in between a surprise opening defeat to Slovakia and a 0-0 draw with Ukraine which drew boos from Belgium supporters, whose views on Tedesco are likely to be unforgiving after this meek exit.
