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Maximilian Woeber’s accidental goal was sufficient for France to secure a victorious start to their Euro 2024 journey on Monday, narrowly defeating Austria 1-0 in their debut match. However, Kylian Mbappe had to be substituted late in the game due to a fractured nose.
Maximilian Woeber’s accidental goal was sufficient for France to secure a victorious start to their Euro 2024 journey on Monday, narrowly defeating Austria 1-0 in their debut match. However, Kylian Mbappe had to be substituted late in the game due to a fractured nose.
Austria, significantly improved under Ralf Rangnick, consistently posed challenges for France, forcing Kylian Mbappe to exit the field late in the game due to an injury sustained in a collision. Earlier, Mbappe missed a clear opportunity that could have widened France’s victory margin. Sources close to the player verified that he fractured his nose in an accidental clash with Kevin Danso.
“He’s in a tough spot. He’s not doing well. His nose is in bad shape, that’s for sure. That’s the downside of the evening for us,” remarked France coach Didier Deschamps, refraining from specifying the severity of the injury.
“We had the opportunity to secure the game, and it’s true that we could have been more precise in attack, but starting with a victory is very positive,” Deschamps commented on the outcome.
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| Euro 2024 – Mbappe having a fractured nose |
Next, France will face the Netherlands in Leipzig on Friday, while Austria will take on Poland in Berlin on the same day.
“We are naturally disappointed with the result. No France player scored against us in 100 minutes, just a very unfortunate own goal,” said Rangnick.
“I think Didier Deschamps was really pleased when the final whistle blew, which shows how well my team played.”
Austria had shown impressive form leading up to the tournament, and many of their players are familiar with the Euros environment — Rangnick hails from Germany, and eight of their starting lineup featured in the German Bundesliga last season.
The French team, however, is arguably the most talented in the tournament, spearheaded by captain Mbappe.
Mbappe had a difficult experience in his only previous Euros appearance in 2021, failing to score and missing a crucial penalty in a shootout defeat to Switzerland in the round of 16.
The new Real Madrid signing will be pondering how he didn’t manage to score in this match, with his first major opportunity arriving in the eighth minute.
Antoine Griezmann and Theo Hernandez combined to release Mbappe, who cut in from the left and looked to curl a shot into the far corner but ended up aiming for the near post instead.
However, Austria goalkeeper Patrick Pentz managed to make the save.
The Austrians settled into the game and missed a great chance of their own to take the lead in the 36th minute.
Captain Marcel Sabitzer controlled a Michael Gregoritsch cross from the left for Christoph Baumgartner, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
That proved pivotal as France took the lead two minutes later.
Ousmane Dembele passed to Mbappe on the right, and he used a stepover to reach the byline before his cutback was accidentally nodded into the far corner of the net by unfortunate Woeber.
Mbappe was then denied by Pentz as he attempted to round the goalkeeper just before halftime, but that was nothing compared to the chance he missed 10 minutes into the second half.
Adrien Rabiot sent Mbappe through on goal, breaking beyond the Austrian defense, but somehow he skewed his shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
This left the game finely balanced, and Austria continued to press for an equalizer, but without success.
Their supporters were unimpressed by what they perceived as time-wasting by Mbappe late in the game, as he required treatment after colliding with Danso in the penalty area.
He left the field with his shirt stained with blood, returned briefly, and then sat down, earning himself a yellow card before being substituted for Olivier Giroud.
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