France, with Kylian Mbappe on the bench, and the Netherlands played to a 0-0 draw in a Euro 2024 Group D match on Friday, marked by a controversial disallowed goal for the Dutch.
This result eliminated Poland from the group, following their earlier 3-1 defeat to Austria.
Xavi Simons had a goal ruled out for offside, while Antoine Griezmann missed two key chances for France.
The draw leaves France and the Netherlands tied at the top of Group D with four points each, one ahead of Austria.
In the final group games on Tuesday, France will face Poland, and the Netherlands will take on Austria.
Despite France winning both qualifying matches against the Netherlands with Mbappe scoring four of their six goals, he remained on the bench for this game.
The Dutch, supported by a majority of fans in the Leipzig Stadium, almost scored within the first minute through Jeremie Frimpong, but Mike Maignan made the save.
Aurelien Tchouameni replaced Mbappe in France’s lineup, as coach Didier Deschamps opted for an additional midfielder.
Without their captain, France relied on Griezmann, who had two significant chances but failed to convert.
Maignan made crucial saves against Cody Gakpo, keeping the game scoreless at halftime.
In the second half, France had more opportunities, with Marcus Thuram shooting wide and Tchouameni missing a header. Griezmann had another big miss when his weak shot was saved by Bart Verbruggen.
The most contentious moment came when Simons scored on a rebound, but the goal was disallowed for offside as Denzel Dumfries was deemed to be interfering with Maignan.
A lengthy VAR check confirmed the decision, much to France’s relief.
Deschamps chose not to bring on Mbappe, instead opting for Olivier Giroud and Kingsley Coman, but the game ended in a draw.
Both teams are now in a strong position to advance to the knockout rounds, thanks to the tournament format that allows the best third-placed teams to move forward.
