France Secures Spot In Euro 2024 Quarter-Finals After Victory Over Belgium

France advanced to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with a narrow 1-0 win over Belgium, courtesy of a late own goal by Jan Vertonghen. Despite their ongoing offensive struggles, Les Bleus found the crucial goal in the 85th minute to secure their spot in the next round. Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne had opportunities for Belgium but couldn't beat Mike Maignan. Vertonghen's deflection of Randal Kolo Muani's shot sealed Belgium's fate.

Both teams had lacklustre group stages and began slowly in Dusseldorf. Antoine Griezmann's weak shot into Koen Casteels' gloves was the only attempt on target during the first half. Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick caused some concern for France as it deflected off the wall, requiring Maignan to block it. Adrien Rabiot received a yellow card for a needless foul on Jeremy Doku, earning him a one-match suspension.

Didier Deschamps' half-time instructions led to increased pressure from France. Casteels saved Aurelien Tchouameni's low strike, and Kylian Mbappe narrowly missed with an effort over the bar. Belgium's first shot on target came in the 69th minute when Orel Mangala set up Lukaku, whose powerful shot was saved by Maignan. The goalkeeper also stopped De Bruyne's long-range attempt before France finally broke through.

Kolo Muani, a substitute, managed to spin away from Vertonghen but his shot was poor. However, it deflected off Vertonghen and flew past Casteels into the net. This marked the second time France benefited from an own-goal winner in this tournament.

Belgium had another disappointing tournament exit after failing to improve their performance from the group stage. They had just one shot in the first half, matching their lowest first-half attempts at Euros since 1980. Lukaku struggled throughout the tournament, managing only one shot and two touches in the opposition box during this game.

Mbappe scored his first European Championship goal against Poland in France’s final group match, bringing his tally at major tournaments to 13 goals—one short of Michel Platini’s record of 14 for France. Despite five shots in this game and 15 overall in the tournament, Mbappe did not make headlines this time.

Future Challenges

France will face either Portugal or Slovenia in the quarter-finals while Belgium heads home after another underwhelming performance in Germany. Both teams' struggles were evident throughout their campaigns, with poor shot conversion rates highlighting their inefficiencies.

The match statistics reflect these issues: Belgium had a conversion rate of just 4.2% over three matches, scoring only two goals from 48 shots—level with France and only better than Serbia’s 3.8%. These figures underscore both teams' difficulties in front of goal during Euro 2024.

The upcoming quarter-final clash will test France further as they aim to overcome their attacking woes and progress deeper into the tournament.