Kylian Mbappé’s nose was the talk of the town in the days leading up to this match between the Netherlands and France. Victim of a fracture during the first match against Austria, the captain of the Blues should be out against Oranje. Even if he did not have to have surgery, there is no doubt that the pain felt will prevent him from being 100%. It remains to be seen whether Didier Deschamps will decide to leave him to rest and what the name of his replacement would be. The French need a victory to qualify for the round of 16, from the 2nd day of this Euro.
The Netherlands got off to a good start
Led by Poland during the first match, the Dutch managed to win at the end of the match (2-1). Ronald Koeman’s men have long exposed themselves to a poor result due to their lack of efficiency, but they secured victory and got off to a good start.
The Blues respond
We were waiting to see if the French team was ready, we got the answer Monday evening against Austria. Beyond N’Golo Kanté’s XXL performance, the Blues were eye-catching in the duels and didn’t let anything slip. Kylian Mbappé’s nose (fracture) and Antoine Griezmann’s forehead (contusion) retain the scars of this battle which turned in favor of the French. From now on, they will have to continue against a selection that they beat twice during the qualifying matches for this Euro 2024 (1-2 and 4-0). Note that France won 7 times out of 8 against its opponent on Friday evening. Beware of overconfidence though.
The probable compositions
Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké; Reijnders, Schouten, Veerman; Simons, Depay, Gakpo.
France: Maignan; Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernández; Griezmann, Kanté, Rabiot; Dembélé, Giroud, Thuram