June 25 – With his first-ever goal at a European championship, Kylian Mbappé, returning from injury, steered France to a disappointing 1-1 against Poland and second place in Group D.
Mbappé is never out of the headlines. On the eve of the tournament, the Frenchman called on his compatriots to vote in the elections; in France’s opening match, he sustained a broken nose, an injury that dominated the press before his goal-scoring return on Tuesday.
From the penalty spot, he netted his maiden goal at the continental finals, but with Les Bleus needing 236 minutes and a spot kick to get on the scoreboard, doubts over the team’s goalscoring remain.
Robert Lewandowski however cancelled out Mbappé’s goal with a penalty conversion of his own in the 79th minute, even if he needed two takes.
French goalkeeper Mike Maignan had come off his line too early according to the match officials. On his second attempt, the Polish striker tip-toed in again, picked the same corner again but got more power behind the ball to steer it past Maignan. It was harsh on the French keeper because Lewandowski had stuttered twice in his run-up.
Poland were level and France rattled, but in a tense finale, with the Polish supporters ramping up the decibels at the Westfalen Stadion, neither side could find a winner. As runners-up in Group D, the French will take on the runners-up in Belgium’s group.
The Euro 2000 winners had come into the match assured of a spot in the last 16 and they were boosted by the return of their talisman eight days after his injury.
Antione Griezmann, with concerns over his general fitness, and Marcus Thuram dropped to the bench. Poland’s own superstar Lewandowski made his tournament starting debut, but it was too little, too late. With two defeats from two, Poland were already eliminated and there was nothing – but pride – on the line for Lewandowski and co.
Under the Westfalen summer sun – the mercury nudging 28°C – France enjoyed two good opportunities in the opening 20 minutes.
Theo Hernandez and Ousmane Dembelé angled the ball at the Polish goalkeeper from tight angles after constructive build-up play, but twice Polish reserve goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski demonstrated his skill with confident saves.
N’Golo Kanté, France’s diminutive holding midfielder, was often at the heart of his side’s attacks, even if his forward passes were not always accurate. At the other end, Poland had the first chance of the match when Piotr Zielinski stabbed a ball toward the French goal in the sixth minute and Kacper Urbanski followed that up with a shot straight at Maignan.
This was a match that lacked the intensity of a do-or-die encounter, but after the drinks break, Lewandowski got one of the standout chances of the first stanza from a cross by Zielinski. Unmarked and in acres of space, he planted a header towards the far corner and claimed a corner. It was a poor miss by his standards.
Mbappé craved the limelight as well. He had been keen to play and needed to adjust to playing with his mask. Close to the pause, as the French developed some serious pressure, Skorupski denied the French captain twice when he found space on the left channel.
The accelerations by France reminded everyone of their prowess. Until then the Euro 2020 winners had been playing with that quintessential degree of insouciance in the knowledge that they can always conjure up a goal from nowhere. That attribute has made France a bit of an enigma over the years – Les Bleus never seem to play barnstorming football, but ultimately win matches.
With Austria leading the Netherlands 1-0 at half-time, there was a sense of urgency for the French if they wanted to top the group and Mbappé started the second half right where he had left off – by testing the Polish goalkeeper.
He whipped a ferocious drive toward the right corner, but Skorupski kept doing what he had done the entire first half – keeping Mbappé and the French out.
But eventually, Mbappé found a way through. There was no stopping the French number seven from the penalty spot after Jakub Kiwior had fouled Dembelé in the box. Mbappé opened his body and sent Skorupski the wrong way.
With their first goal of the tournament and Mbappé’s first at a European championship, France had gotten a deserved lead in the 56th minute. Lewandowski’s penalty soon nullified that single-goal advantage and France were rocking. In injury time, Mbappé dropped his shoulder, but his deflected attempt was all too easy for Skorupski.
Notwithstanding Mbappé’s best intentions and goal, France were disappointing. A draw was a fair result and with only a penalty and own goal to their name from three group matches, the French didn’t deserve more than a runners-up spot in Group D.
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