Euro 2024: Griezmann Matches Thuram As Goals Dry Up In Key Matches

Euro 2024's Friday action featured a highly anticipated Group D clash between France and the Netherlands, ending in a goalless draw. France's Kylian Mbappe, sidelined with a broken nose from a previous match, remained on the bench, leaving the French side struggling offensively. Antoine Griezmann missed several opportunities, and despite his record-equaling 32nd major tournament appearance for France, the team couldn't secure a win without Mbappe.

Conversely, the Netherlands had a potential winner by Xavi Simons annulled via VAR due to an offside call against Denzel Dumfries. This marked the first goalless draw of the tournament and ended a streak of 50 consecutive games without a 0-0 result in European Championship play.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine rallied from a goal down to defeat Slovakia 2-1 in Group E. Slovakia initially led through Ivan Schranz, their second player to score multiple goals in Euro 2024 alongside Germany’s Jamal Musiala. The Slovakian team featured seasoned veterans like Peter Pekarik and Juraj Kucka, both making their 12th major tournament appearances, overtaking Marek Hamsik’s national record.

Ukraine, fielding the tournament’s youngest lineup with an average age of 25 years and 259 days, saw Mykola Shaparenko equalize before Roman Yaremchuk secured the win. Yaremchuk became the second Ukrainian substitute to score in a major tournament after Artem Dovbyk in Euro 2020. This match marked the fourth comeback victory of Euro 2024, matching the total from all of Euro 2020.

In another significant match, Austria ousted Poland from the tournament with a 3-1 win in Berlin. Austria’s Gernot Trauner opened the scoring with the fastest goal for his country in Euro history. However, Poland’s Krzysztof Piatek equalized, joining a select group of Poles to score on their Euro debuts.

Robert Lewandowski and Kamil Grosicki added age-related milestones for Poland by becoming the nation’s oldest players to feature in the tournament. Austria regained control in the second half, led by Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic, who both became the first Austrians to score in consecutive Euro tournaments. Arnautovic's penalty made him Austria's second-oldest scorer at a major tournament, following Ivica Vastic’s record set against Poland in 2008.

Austria's defensive strength also shone as they have now gone nine consecutive international matches without conceding a second-half goal, a feat last achieved between November 1973 and June 1975.

Statistical Highlights

Overall, while the France-Netherlands match may have lacked goals, the day's earlier games provided plenty of drama and significant statistical milestones. These results left Poland as the first team formally eliminated from Euro 2024, underscoring the high stakes and unpredictability inherent in the competition.