With Mbappé on the bench, France and the Netherlands remain in a goalless draw for the European Championship

The Netherlands and France faced each other on Friday afternoon and drew 0-0, in the second round of Group D of the European Championship. The game was held at the Red Bull Arena, in Leipzig, Germany. The clash was the first to end goalless in this edition of the competition. French striker Mbappé was on the bench, but was preserved and did not enter the field.

With the draw, the Dutch and French were in first and second place in the bracket, respectively. Each team finished the second round with four points from two games played.

The Netherlands’ next game is against Austria this Tuesday, at 4pm (Brasília time), at the Olympic stadium in Berlin. France plays on the same day and time against Poland, at Signal Iduna Park, in Dortmund.

First time

The match started in full swing. In the first minute, Frimpong received the ball deep and shot dangerously, creating the first big chance of the match for the Netherlands. Three minutes later, France responded. Griezmann took a risk from outside the area and the ball skimmed the crossbar.

The big chance of the first half and of the game belonged to France. At 14, Rabiot received a backheel pass from Thuram and was in front of the goalkeeper. The midfielder hesitated to shoot and passed it to Griezmann, who was unable to finish.

Controversial bid in the second stage

The second half was more open. Both teams created chances, and the game was dynamic. The Netherlands opened the scoring, but the referee disallowed the goal in a controversial move. In the 24th minute, Memphis Depay made an individual play and shot past goalkeeper Maignan. With the rebound, Xavi Simons opened the scoring, but the referee ruled Dumfries offside, which at the time of the shot would have hindered a possible action by the French goalkeeper.

At the end of the game, France got more attacking and got good opportunities with Kanté and Rabiot, but without success.