Netherlands and France could not be separated in Leipzig on Friday so UEFA Euro 2024 Group D remains unchanged after a goalless draw with both sides in the top two on four points but yet to confirm their round of 16 berth.
Xavi Simons thought that he had won it for Oranje when he fired home in the final 20 minutes but a VAR check exposed Denzel Dumfries' offside and obstruction of Mike Maignan and was disallowed.
A lively early start gave way to a more laborious game of soccer with Les Bleus having the better of the opportunities across both halves with captain Antoine Griezmann being particularly wasteful for the French.
Didier Deschamps' decision to not risk Kylian Mbappe after his broken nose in the win over Austria was somewhat justified with France fighting to a second consecutive clean sheet in a physical contest.
However, Mbappe could have been the difference between the draw and a win with Marcus Thuram, Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ousmane Dembele all wasting good chances for the 2018 FIFA World Cup winners.
The Dutch were not without their own chances with Jeremie Frimpong and Cody Gakpo both forcing saves out of Mike Maignan but Bart Verbruggen was equally busy in the Netherlands' goal.
Ultimately, the point should not disappoint either side too much given Les Bleus' dominance of possession and chances but Oranje's disallowed goal which logically was chalked off as harsh as it is in a game of such fine margins.
Ronald Koeman's men are slightly ahead of the French in the Group D standings having scored a goal more against Poland in their opening game and Deschamps will be frustrated by his players' inability to score more than once over two games so far.
Group E: Slovakia 1, Ukraine 2
Group D: Poland 1, Austria 3
Group D: Netherlands 0, France 0
It is over in Leipzig and the points are shared. Neither side will be able to argue too much although the Dutch will feel that Xavi Simons' goal being ruled out was harsh. Overall, the French arguably had the better of the chances and should have scored at least once. Ultimately, though, both teams are looking in decent shape for the round of 16.
Into the last of the five added minutes and it looks like both sides have settled for this goalless draw. Not perhaps what we expected given the first half and the chances created by France but arguably a fair result overall. Both sides remain on course for the knockout round in Group D.
Xavi Simons fires in but Maignan was being obstructed by an offside Dumfries so the Dutch goal does not stand after a VAR check. That is a massive, massive let off for France. Simons has since been substituted and looked bitterly disappointed. Giroud is coming on for the French, but still no Mbappe.
Moments after that Thuram opening, the French try again with a headed effort from Tchouameni flashing just over from Dembele's ball in. Griezmann then gets another golden chance but loses his footing and can only win a corner from Verbruggen. Dembele then goes himself and blazes over after twisting and turning to open up the shot. Les Bleus are bossing the ball and having more chances, but the Dutch have still done more with theirs without scoring. Who will break the deadlock? France need to make the most of this dominance while they have it.
Just about an hour in here and France go close-ish again with Thuram just firing wide moments after a ball into Rabiot found him on his unfavored right foot. It is not quite falling for either side to get a goal just yet, but it does feel like it is sitting up for one team to potentially go for it and sneak the win. Into the final 30 minutes and it is still anyone's game.
The game is back on in Leipzig after the break and a couple of hefty early challenges suggest that this could be about to get even more physical. Not yet a vintage encounter despite a bright start, are we about to get an overdue goal? It feels like this game has at least one in it.
Although there were some early chances, this one remains goalless. France have arguably had the better openings with Griezmann's header gathered minutes before the break. Netherlands had some openings earlier but Les Bleus have been slightly more in control of the chances for the past 20 minutes or so this half. Still 45 minutes for a goal or two even if this one feels like it will not be a feast of goals and instead might be decided by a moment of brilliance.
This has been a good showing from the Arsenal man so far. Not a fixture in the France XI until this tournament, Saliba could now be a lock for one of the central defensive berths under Deschamps. Calm, composed and impeccably positioned, it has been very convincing from the Gunners star thus far. Aside from that, Schouten has picked up a booking for a foul on Griezmann but we are otherwise goalless.
What a chance for Les Bleus with the Inter man running onto the ball through and evading the Netherlands' offside trap. Thuram screws his shot high and wide when bearing down on goal. That was a very good opening for France and one they could regret not taking. Would Mbappe have scored that if he was on the field? It is certainly something that many French fans will ask themselves.
What a start to this one! Gakpo forcing Maignan into a save now which makes a handful of stops each for the Frenchman and Verbruggen in the Oranje goal. Can the game keep this pace up? Surely someone takes one of these chances soon.
Griezmann has two great chances inside of 60 seconds. The French captain fires wide with the second, but should he have done better with the first? Rabiot lacked the confidence to shoot and sought out Griezmann who got tangled up in his onw feet and was unable to get a shot off. Two very good openings there for France after a few crosses had been repelled by the Dutch.
Early chances for either team inside of five minutes with Griezmann responding to Frimpong's effort by forcing a save out of Verbruggen. Each side has already made the other goalkeeper work so this is shaping up very nicely. Oranje had a very soft penalty shout waved away too so the pace of the game has been good so far
The game is now live in front of a bouncing atmosphere in Leipzig. A huge 90 minutes coming up on both sides. One of them can reach the round of 16 here! An early chance for Netherlands too with Frimpong stretching the France defense and forcing Maignan into a save inside of 60 seconds.
One slight alteration that Deschamps has made in his XI is placing Thuram as the central attacking figure and bringing in Rabiot else wide on the left instead. The Inter man is not a natural lone frontman and works better as part of a unit but could thrive more centrally if Griezmann's creativity levels remain the same and Dembele's rise with greater responsibility. The big question is whether or not Thuram is clinical enough for this sort of responsibility in a significant fixture like this one against Netherlands.
The most intriguing semi-innovative approach that Deschamps is taking is the modern twist on a tried and tested classic. Back in the days of Blaise Matuidi, the midfielder was occasionally asked to put in a shift wide on the left as a makeshift left wide man capable of getting up and down the flank given his enormous work rate and stamina. Matuidi might be gone, but Rabiot has now been asked to do the same in a one-off scenario with Griezmann floating towards a more central role and taking on the captain's armband with Thuram moving into a fixed central position and another midfielder in Tchouameni coming in alongside Kante.
Deschamps has opted to keep many elements of his starting XI the same with only one personnel change being Aurelien Tchouameni coming in for future Real Madrid teammate Mbappe. However, a number of those players will be playing slightly different roles to the ones that they occupied vs. Austria. The defense is absolutely unchanged as Les Bleus go in search of another clean sheet, but Griezmann takes the armband and will be positioned more centrally with Tchouameni coming in but N'Golo Kante keeping exactly the same position that saw him excel in Dusseldorf on Monday. Up top is where it gets interesting with Ousmane Dembele staying out wide on the right, but Marcus Thuram coming in central and Adrien Rabiot being asked to put in a shift on the left. Obviously, that means no Olivier Giroud who came on for Mbappe against Austria but seems to now be a substitute option for Deschamps instead of a starter.
Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Dijk (c), Ake, De Vrij; Schouten, Simons, Reijnders; Frimpong, Depay, Gakpo.
France: Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Hernandez; Tchouameni, Kante, Rabiot; Dembele, Thuram, Griezmann (c).
The news that everybody has been waiting for: Kylian Mbappe is not fit enough to start for France vs. Netherlands. Adrien Rabiot goes to left wing with Antoine Griezmann taking over the captaincy and dropping into midfield with Aurelien Tchouameni joining him. Marcus Thuram gets the nod through the middle up top.
Thank you for joining our coverage of Netherlands vs. France in Leipzig. The big story is Kylian Mbappe's face to be fit to captain Les Bleus with the expectation that he will ultimately fall short. However, until the official team news arrives, he could still feature in Didier Deschamps' French XI vs. Oranje. Stay with us for the very latest ahead of this huge Group D encounter.
