Euro 2024: France secures Round of 16 spot with 1-1 draw against Poland

In a game that was settled by spot kicks, Poland and France played out a 1-1 draw in their final group stage game of the Euro 2024 at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.

A draw was enough to secure a spot for France in the Round of 16 as they secured a second-spot finish in Group D.

France kicked off the game with urgency, looking to threaten Poland's defence without wasting any minute. A couple of minutes later, Piotr Zielinski retaliated by taking a shot outside of the box, forcing a save from Maignan.

France had a first sniff at the goal in the 11th minute of the game. Dembele produced a late cross from the right flank, which was completely missed by the Polish defence. Theo Hernandez took a shot from the left, but Skorupski denied France from taking a lead.

 

Three minutes later, Poland almost took away the lead following a corner from Sebastian Szymanski. The ball fell to Kacper Urbanski, and his left-footed shot was denied by Maignan at the goalpost.

As the game proceeded towards the end of the first half, the game started to open up, with both teams going toe-to-toe in the hunt for a goal.

Robert Lewandowski was at the end of a perfect set-up. He headed the ball, which got deflected away by Wiliam Saliba.

France retaliated in the next couple of minutes, with Kante serving the ball on a platter for Aurelien Tchouameni to take a shot. He went for glory, but the ball got deflected and went out of play for a corner.

With a couple of minutes left in the first half, France had two golden opportunities to take the lead.

But the chances went begging right in front of their eyes. Kylian Mbappe pulled off a remarkable fingertip save from Skorupski.

Mbappe once again had a run at Poland's defensive half, but Skorupski was there to save the day for Poland. The first half ended goalless.

In the second half, France eventually found the breakthrough with Mbappe converting the spot kick, bagging his first goal in the European Championship. It was Kiwior who brought down Dembele in the defensive half.

France continued to threaten the opposition's defensive half, but Poland found a moment of reprieve in the 76th minute.

Swiderski was brought down following a challenge from Upamecano. The incident was referred was by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), and the penalty was awarded to Poland.

The Polish record goal-scorer made no mistake from the spot kick and brought the game on level terms.

The game ended on level terms, with France bagging a spot in the Round of 16 by finishing second in Group D.