The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
France find a way
Kolo Muani’s deflected strike ends up in Belgium net as Mbappe & Co reach last 8
SUBSTITUTE RANDAL Kolo Muani scored with a deflected shot five minutes from time to give France a nervy but deserved 1-0 Euro 2024 last 16 win over a disappointing Belgium on Monday.
France made most of the running in a cagey game but were reckless with their finishing, until a nice combination of passes, finished off by N'golo Kante, finally created space for Kolo Muani to bundle his shot in off the leg of Jan Vertonghen.
France will now meet the winner of Monday's match between Portugal and Slovenia in the quarter-finals in Hamburg on Friday.
It was a fittingly scruffy decider for an underwhelming game, but France at least looked like they were trying to win it.
It was a meeting between officially the second (France) and third (Belgium) best teams in the world, but after both limped into the knockout stage via unimpressive final group-stage draws, managing only two goals apiece from their three games, they looked extremely cautious in attack.
Belgium clearly had a plan to take any speed out of the game, playing at less than walking pace at times, with Kevin de Bruyne often operating just in front of his back four.
The best chance of the first half came for France after 34 minutes when Jules Kounde whipped in a curling cross that recalled striker Marcus Thuram headed wide – and spent the next two minutes berating himself for.
Aurelien Tchouameni forced Koen Casteels into his first save of the day soon after the break, while ever-lively Kylian Mbappe miskicked a decent chance as France began to put some passes together.
A rare Belgian thrust was cut short by a brilliant Theo Hernandez tackle just as Yannick Carrasco was about to pull the trigger, and Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne then brought good saves from Mike Maignan.
France's poor finishing continued with William Saliba and Mbappe both blazing over before Kolo Muani struck late on to win it.
France coach Didier Deschampssad, "It's beautiful, we played a big game, it was tight but enjoyed possession and we had more opportunities."
"We had several chances but missed the target. We did a lot of good things. We have to savour it, it's quite an achievement. We're in the quarter finals, they're going home."
Randal Kolo Muani, who snuck the goal across Belgium lines for the hard-earned win also spoke about the number of French attempts and said, "We're enjoying this, we pushed hard, we had a lot of attempts but we were missing the target. I got lucky (on the goal), the coach had told me to bring my energy ... to bring danger with my speed. I tried to bring some freshness to the game."
Germany wary of Yamal
Spain winger Lamine Yamal may just be 16 years old, playing at his first major tournament, but call him a kid at your own peril, Germany fullback David Raum said on Monday ahead of their Euro 2024 quarter-final clash.
Germany, three-time European champions who have gone 10 years without a major international trophy, beat Denmark 2-0 to set up a mouth-watering last eight match against fellow title contenders Spain, where Yamal has quickly earned a starting spot.
The teenager's skills, creative play and speed down the wing have been impressive along with those of fellow winger Nico Williams, with the Spaniards beating Georgia 4-1 to cruise into the quarter-finals.
Yamal also set a record in the first group game against Croatia, becoming the youngest player to ever appear at the European Championship
"When you see what Yamal brings to football, age becomes no issue," Raum said. "The lad plays in first team at Barcelona and also in the national team so there is no point talking about him as a kid."
"He has brutal quality and we will have to find a way to defend against him."