Kylian Mbappé scored his first ever European Championships goal with a masked return to action, but France was stunningly denied top spot in Group D after surrendering a late lead to tie Poland 1-1.
Austria’s upset victory over the Netherlands in Berlin clinched first place for Ralf Rangnick’s side, beating the Dutch 3-2 in a contest featuring a ceaseless series of dramatic twists as Euro 2024’s trend of thrilling group stage finales continued unabated.
Mbappé donned a custom-made mask to protect his broken nose and celebrated sending goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski the wrong way after 56 minutes by ripping it from his face and lifting his arms to the sky. Ousmane Dembele had won the penalty kick by being brought down in the box by Poland defender Jakub Kiwior.
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France captain Mbappé later took a heavy blow to the mask and was left holding his face, but the more painful development came when Robert Lewandowski equalized for Poland on 79 minutes. Dayot Upamecano’s clumsy challenge on Karol Swiderski was initially let go by the referee, but a spot-kick was awarded after video review.
Mike Maignan saved Lewandowski’s first effort, but a retake was ordered after the keeper crept off his line. Lewandowski went the same way and clipped it in the equalizer with the help of the post.
Meanwhile, news of the to-and-fro encounter in the other game filtered through. Austria had taken the lead after only six minutes, thanks to an own goal from Donyell Malen.
Cody Gakpo, the big striker that United States fans still have nightmares of — ever since the Round of 16 clash that eliminated the Americans from the 2022 World Cup — equalized for the Dutch with a fine strike just after half-time.
There was more to come.
Austria, permanently enterprising and always organized, found themselves back in front thanks to Romano Schmid’s power header. Memphis Depay’s fine finish got the Netherlands back level on 75 minutes, but there was a final blow to come.
Marcel Sabitzer has had a strong season and an excellent tournament, and fired in the winner with 10 minutes left. Sabitzer’s blistering left-foot strike happened moments after Lewandowski’s goal against France, and was ultimately the clincher.
Austria now occupies a prime spot in the bottom half of the bracket, and will face the runner-up in Group F, a position to be determined on Wednesday but currently occupied by Turkey.
France meets the second-place team from Group E, where every team presently has three points, and is on a potential quarterfinal colliosn course with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
The Netherlands advances, but must wait to discover its opponent and destination, while Poland had already been eliminated after losing its first two games.
Mbappe seemed delighted just to be back out there after missing the Netherlands game, his nose broken in a collision with Austria’s Kevin Danso.
But France’s scoring continues to be a problem. It went into the game as the only team not to score from one of its own players and was the joint lowest scorer in the tournament.
Mbappe’s return brings some optimism, but the tournament favorite is not without worrying issues.
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Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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