France and the Netherlands settled for a 0-0 draw in Group D 2024 European Championship clash on Friday.
The French are now unbeaten against the Netherlands since 2018.
Antoine Griezmann missed France’s best chances while Xavi Simons had a goal ruled out for the Dutch in the first goalless draw of the tournament.
Both teams are on four points after their second match and also ensured Poland was the first team eliminated.
Poland was beaten by Austria 3-1 earlier Friday and is assured of finishing bottom of the group, even if it beats France in its final group game.
France’s buildup was dominated by speculation on whether Mbappé would play after the team captain broke his nose in their opening 1-0 win over Austria.
Mbappé trained wearing a face mask on Thursday and coach Didier Deschamps was optimistic he’d be available.
But the 2018 FIFA World Cup winning coach evidently decided it was not worth the risk to play Mbappé in a game his team had no need to win.
France enjoyed its best period of pressure after the break, when Aurélien Tchouaméni headed over while goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen denied Griezmann from close range.
Then Simons fired the ball in at the other end in the 69th on a rebound after Mike Maignan saved Memphis Depay’s effort.
Unfortunately, the Dutch celebrations were cut short, however, because Denzel Dumfries, who was offside, got in Maignan’s way for attempting to save Simons’ shot.
BBC
