Mbappe scores, but Poland holds France to draw at Euro 2024
France and Poland tied 1-1 in an enthralling match in Euro 2024 on Tuesday. Both goals came from penalty kicks, as star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski each scored from the spot. France entered the game sitting second, just behind the Netherlands, in Group D.
Although both teams had four points in the group, the Dutch side was narrowly ahead on a tiebreaker. This meant that France essentially had to beat Poland to top the group and, in turn, get a favorable round of 16 matchup. The Netherlands played Austria at the same time on Tuesday in Berlin as the France-Poland fixture.
Pregame talk of the massive match in Dortmund surrounded the return of two superstar strikers. Mbappe, donning a mask, was named in France’s starting lineup for the first time since suffering a broken nose on June 17th. On the other side, Lewandowski was making his first start of the tournament after dealing with a thigh issue.
The mask did not seem to hinder Mbappe’s performance
France, knowing they had to perform well on the day, started the match against Poland on the front foot. The tournament favorites racked up plenty of possession and played some slick passes in the opening 20 minutes or so. Theo Hernandez and Ousmane Dembele both had solid scoring chances during this timeframe. Nevertheless, Polish shot-stopper Lukasz Skorupski made quality saves to deny the Blues.
Poland, however, eventually settled into the game and looked more and more dangerous going forward. All five of the team’s midfield and forward players recorded shots in the opening 35 minutes of the match. Much like France though, Poland could not quite manage to put the ball in the back of the net.
The match entered the halftime break scoreless, but not before Skorupski saved a pair of shots from Mbappe. The first opportunity was perhaps the best block by the keeper. As the pacy forward raced towards goal, Skorupski stuck out his hand to make the stop. Overall, the mask did not necessarily seem to affect Mbappe’s play in the first half. The star still racked up two dangerous shots, four dribbles, and a 96% pass success rate during the period.
France, Poland exchange penalties in Euro 2024 group stage
France continued to push for an opening goal in the early stages of the second half. Mbappe saw yet another shot saved by Skorupski in the 49th minute, before pushing another chance just wide of the post seconds later. Nevertheless, the masked star would eventually put his team ahead in the 56th minute with a goal from the penalty spot.
Jakub Kiwior initially brought down Dembele inside the Poland box. Mbappe stepped up to take the spot kick seconds later. While Skorupski was brilliant on the day, the forward sent to keeper the wrong way in a clever penalty shot. The strike was the first goal from a Frenchman at the tournament. France previously had one goal entering Tuesday’s game, but it came from an own goal against Austria.
Although France was controlling the game, Poland was given a chance after Dayot Upamecano brought down Karol Swiderski inside the box in the 75th minute. The infraction was not seen on the pitch by the referee, but VAR helped correctly make the call.
Maignan stepped up and saved the ensuing spot kick by Lewandowski. However, the keeper was adjudged to have strayed off of his line before the striker made contact with the ball. As a result, the Polish star was able to retry the kick. Lewandowski scored the second take, as the ball bounced off of the post and into the back of the net.
The chaotic match eventually ended level at a goal each. The result means that France finished second in Group D. They did not, however, end up just behind the Netherlands. Instead, Austria edged out the Dutch side 3-2 to shockingly top the group. Nevertheless, the Netherlands still advances to the knockout round by finishing third in the group with four teams in third reaching the round of 16.
PHOTOS: IMAGO