France have booked their place in the quarter-finals of EURO 2024 after a 1-0 win over Belgium. Jan Vertonghen's own goal ended Belgium's run and brought France one step closer to their title ambitions, although coach Didier Deschamps and his team still have a long way to go.
For coach Deschamps personally, this is also his 8th unbeaten match (only counting official playing time) with France in the finals of major tournaments. However, coach Deschamps still believes that France still has a lot of work to do.
Coach Deschamps
"The French team played progressively, when we had to face an opponent who played too cautiously, even though in theory they were a strong attacking team. France did everything they could to create chances.
We had more chances than Belgium, but not only that, France also played calmly, not falling into the opponent's trap. I like that, although it is clear that we cannot win if we only control the ball better. I want France to create more chances," said coach Deschamps.
In the quarter-finals, France will face either Portugal or Slovenia. In 3 of the last 4 major tournaments (World Cup 2018 and 2022, EURO 2016), France reached the final. However, coach Deschamps said that France must calculate each step.
"For those who expected France to reach the quarter-finals, cherish this moment. Nothing can come with just a snap of the fingers. France has reached the quarter-finals and this is a very important round," said coach Deschamps.
Despite France's victory, superstar Kylian Mbappe has yet to score his second goal at EURO 2024. The 1998-born striker said the mask was making him feel uncomfortable, but Deschamps believes his student will soon get used to wearing the mask to play better.
Mbappe cannot score a second goal at EURO 2024
"Mbappe is getting used to wearing the mask. Everything will be fine. When playing, sweat can get into his eyes. Mbappe will get used to it, but anyway the mask can affect Mbappe's vision. He said when wearing the mask, it feels like looking through 3D glasses. Except for the vision problem, Mbappe will be fine with this mask. He will get used to it soon."
In contrast to France's joy is Belgium's sadness. After being eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, Kevin de Bruyne and his teammates stopped in the round of 16 of EURO 2024. Belgium did not play well in the group stage, finishing second with only 4 points. In the match against France, Belgium only had 2 shots on target, respectively by Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne.
Coach Domenico Tedesco shared: "In this match, we understood that France had problems maintaining their defensive distance. They always pushed very high. Belgium wanted to play with 3 strikers to exploit the space behind the French defenders. That was Belgium's main idea. In defense, Belgium wanted to control the French wingers well. We did that."
"It's difficult to analyse everything just one hour after the game ended, when Belgium conceded a late goal. We will look back at what happened at EURO 2024 in a few weeks," added the Belgium coach.
When asked about Lukaku, the striker who could not leave EURO 2024 with even 1 goal, coach Tedesco affirmed: "Regarding Lukaku not being able to score with what he has shown, I can only say it is regrettable, very regrettable."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-phap-mbappe-gap-van-de-voi-mat-na-hlv-bi-tiec-cho-lukaku-qua-185240702024531087.htm
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