France's Triumph: A Stroke of Fortune Amidst a Lackluster Display
On Monday, France secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Belgium, propelling them into the quarterfinals of the European Championship. The winning goal, a fortuitous deflection off Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen in the 85th minute, was a testament to the scrappy nature of the match between the second and third-ranked teams in the world.
France's talisman, Kylian Mbappé, despite wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, failed to deliver his usual brilliance, with none of his five shots finding the target. The match was a far cry from the high-octane encounters one would expect from teams of such caliber, with both sides largely neutralizing each other's attacking threats.
Despite the uninspiring performance, France's coach, Didier Deschamps, hailed the victory as beautiful, emphasizing the difficulty of the match and the importance of their achievement. He acknowledged France's dominance in possession and chances created, highlighting the significance of Kolo Muani's decisive intervention.
Muani's deflected shot added to France's fortuitous goals at Euro 2024, which also included an own goal and a penalty converted by Mbappé. However, these fortunate incidents have failed to quell the growing discontent among French fans, who believe the team, led by the prodigious Mbappé, should be performing at a higher level.
Mbappé, who recently completed his move to Real Madrid, will now make his debut in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, having missed out due to a penalty shootout loss to Switzerland in the last 16 at the previous tournament in 2021.
Belgium, on the other hand, heads home after a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, marked by a 0-0 draw with Ukraine and jeers from their own fans. Their coach, Domenico Tedesco, opted to deploy Kevin De Bruyne as a deep-lying midfielder to control the tempo of the game and prevent France's speedy attackers, like Mbappé, from exploiting space.
While the tactic might have been effective in a hypothetical Belgian victory, its failure has invited further criticism towards Tedesco. The defeat leaves Belgium with a bitter taste, especially after their impressive performance in the 2018 World Cup, where they finished third.
