Another great year for France as they reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024. This is a big achievement right after reaching back-to-back World Cup finals. However, France struggles to score goals in this tournament. Their only goal came from a penalty, and the other goals were their own. The French team did not find the net in open play this whole tournament. This is surely a struggling stage for the former World Cup champions after looking at the squad they have at their disposal. France has players like Griezmann and Mbappe in the attack who all had an amazing year for their club. Kylian Mbappe was also the top scorer of the 2022 World Cup, despite losing to Argentina and Messi in the finals. Their lack of scoring has not affected them yet, as the club keeps winning their games.
France begins their journey with a tough group of Austria, Poland, and the Netherlands. Their whole group stage campaign was rather disappointing for their supporters. All the football fans labeled them a “boring team” due to their heavily defensive game tactics. There was also heavy criticism after they were unable to top their group. In their opening match against table-toppers Austria, they barely managed to win thanks to an own goal from Maximilian Wöber. Their match against the Netherlands ended in a draw. Same against Poland, where Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty to draw 1-1. France’s main player, Mbappe, also got injured in their opening game of the tournament. After France progressed to the round of 16, they played against a declining Belgium squad. Their victory against Belgium was also due to their own goal. France faced their real challenge against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, where they won on penalties.
Can Mbappe perform as France struggles continues?
The question of how Kylian Mbappe will perform in an important knockout game should not be on the lips of any football fan. The French striker has proven time and time again his ability to make something out of nothing, no matter how hopeless the situation is. After his announcement of his transfer to Real Madrid, the question on everyone’s mind is: will Mbappe finally fulfill his potential? The new Real Madrid player is already labeled as the successor to the throne of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Now the Frenchman finally has his chance, and his Euro 24 reputation until now will not change anything. Currently, Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo is leading the top goalscoring charts for Euro 24. The Netherlands will face England in the semi-final, and it can be a tough job to stop the Liverpool man. The French national team manager still believes in Mbappe. Although the French team has opted for a more defensively organized formation this tournament, the danger of Kylian Mbappe is still felt on the ground. Mbappe and his dangerous runs behind the opponent’s defense have already terrified teams all over Europe. Austria and the Netherlands understood the danger of Mbappe and decided to play a low block to avoid his dangerous runs. For France, only Olivier Giroud (57) and Thierry Henry (51) have scored more goals than Mbappe (48). Deschamps told Telefoot: “Don’t you think he has already made enough history with what he has done so far? He wants to make even more history.” The French squad also believes in Mbappe after no player was able to step up in his absence. After a long and tiring season, both physically and mentally, with Paris Saint-Germain, we can expect Mbappe to not perform at his best.For more sports updates, make sure to follow us on:
