Kylian Mbappé marked his comeback at the European Championship in Germany with a goal against Poland, sporting a mask to shield his broken nose. However, this wasn’t sufficient to secure a victory for France on Tuesday, nor was it enough to resolve the team’s mounting concerns at Euro 2024 as reflected in the Euro 2024 Scores.
Mbappé, celebrating his 56th-minute penalty conversion, briefly removed his protective mask to acknowledge the cheers from French supporters. Yet, Robert Lewandowski responded for Poland, securing a 1-1 draw with a penalty in the 79th minute, taken at the second attempt. This result relegated France to the runner-up position in Group D, behind Austria. Consequently, they find themselves in the same side of the knockout bracket as formidable teams like Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo, host nation Germany, and Spain – all heavyweight contenders in this tournament.
Image alt text: Kylian Mbappe of France wearing a black protective mask during the Euro 2024 match against Poland, showcasing his return to the tournament after a nose injury.
Simultaneously, Austria triumphed over the Netherlands with a 3-2 victory.
This draw against Poland underscores a worrying trend for France at Euro 2024: they are yet to score a goal from open play. Their sole victory against Austria was a narrow 1-0 win decided by an own goal, followed by a goalless draw against the Netherlands – a match where Mbappé was absent due to the nose injury sustained against Austria.
Despite progressing to the knockout stages, “Les Bleus” have delivered performances that are far from convincing based on euro 2024 scores and match play.
French coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged the need for improvement, stating, “I would be a lot more concerned if there were no chances, but obviously there is a little bit of room for improvement. Maybe there are other teams who have given off something a bit different, but the fact we haven’t scored limits our performance. We are here where we want to be.”
Mbappé’s return to the starting lineup against Poland, who were already eliminated from the tournament, was marked by the noticeable impediment of his black mask, which appeared to restrict his peripheral vision.
Throughout the match, Mbappé seemed to avoid overly physical confrontations and aerial duels, often positioning himself on the periphery of the penalty area, awaiting ball delivery.
Deschamps admitted the mask presented challenges for Mbappé, noting, “I thought he was quite good on his feet with the mask — he needed to get used to it. But when he sweats, that sticks in his eyes and he needed to wipe his eyes.”
Nevertheless, Mbappé remained France’s most potent attacking threat and finally broke his six-game goal drought in major international tournaments – encompassing four games at Euro 2020 and two at Euro 2024 – after Ousmane Dembele was fouled in the box. This penalty goal marked his 48th for the French national team.
Mbappé played the entire match, initially as a central striker and later shifting to the left wing, in what was another underwhelming team display for France – a nation with two European Championship titles and the runners-up spot at the 2022 World Cup.
France now faces the runner-up from Group E in the round of 16 on July 1, potentially Belgium, Romania, Slovakia, or Ukraine.
The path ahead in Euro 2024 appears significantly more challenging for the French squad.
Poland, on the other hand, exits the tournament.
In what is likely his final European Championship appearance, the 36-year-old Lewandowski concluded his Euro 2024 journey with a goal – albeit requiring two attempts to overcome goalkeeper Mike Maignan with his characteristic stutter-step penalty technique.
Image alt text: Robert Lewandowski of Poland celebrating his penalty goal against France during Euro 2024, securing a draw and marking his final tournament appearance with a score.
Maignan initially saved Lewandowski’s first penalty attempt, but it was ruled that he had moved off his goal line prematurely.
Given a second chance, Lewandowski employed the same run-up and this time placed the ball into the bottom corner, securing his 83rd international goal, despite Maignan diving correctly.
A similar scenario unfolded for Lewandowski against France at the World Cup, where Hugo Lloris was in goal. Again, Lewandowski scored on his second attempt after Lloris was penalized for encroaching.
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
