France needed an own goal to win 1-0 over defensively organized Austria and give its coach Didier Deschamps his 100th victory at the start of their campaign in Group D of the European Football Championship 2024, on Monday, in a match that witnessed the exit of star Kylian Mbappé with a bloody face in the final minutes.
France did not perform at its best level, and the only goal of the match came in the 37th minute, when Maximilian Fauber accidentally scored his team’s net in an attempt to clear a cross played by Mbappe after dodging three Austrian defenders.
But three years after being eliminated in the round of 16 in the last edition against Switzerland, France has given reason to believe that it will go far in Germany.
Mbappe, in his 80th appearance with the national team, wasted a clear opportunity to score in the 54th minute when he fired a shot that missed its way into the goal, to everyone’s astonishment.
In the final minutes of the match, Mbappe, who was still searching for his first goal in the continental championship, suffered an apparent fracture in his nose as a result of his collision with Kevin Danso while trying to play a header inside the area, and he fell to the ground with a bloody face.
Mbappe received a yellow card after he sat on the field after returning to the green rectangle after receiving treatment.
Deschamps then replaced him, and there will be concerns about the seriousness of the 25-year-old player’s injury.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick had pledged that his brilliant team, which had suffered one loss in the last 16 matches, would be a match for France, and he stuck to his word as he played with relentless high pressure.
He had the opportunity to open the scoring shortly before France’s goal when Marcel Zabitzer set up a cross for Mikhail Gregoritsch into the path of Christoph Baumgartner, who fired a shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
France’s pace was faster after the break, and Austria’s goalkeeper Patrick Bentz brilliantly blocked an attempt from Marcus Thuram, but the Austrian national team continued its strong performance throughout the match with the support of its fans.
Austria was unable to threaten France’s goal, as N’Golo Kante performed brilliantly in the middle of the field, justifying his sudden return to the squad.
In the next round, France will play against the Netherlands, which also won its opening match 2-1 over Poland, which faces Austria.
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