Euro 2024, Netherlands and France play out goalless draw: Stats
The Netherlands and France played out a goalless draw in a massive UEFA European Championship Group D clash at the Leipzig Stadium. An even first half saw France's Antoine Griezmann miss a glorious chance. The Dutch thought they went ahead in the second half but VAR ruled out the goal. Before that, France had a couple of presentable chances. Here are further details.
Both sides had chances in an entertaining first half
In what was a thrilling first half, both sides had chances. Jeremie Frimpong forced Mike Maignan to flick the ball behind with a low shot inside two minutes. Adrien Rabiot then decided to be unselfish and laid the ball for Griezmann, who somehow missed. Rabiot could have shot the ball himself. Cody Gakpo drew out a save from Maignan. The match became cagier thereafter.
Key match stats from the first half
Both side made five attempts each in the first half with the Dutch having three shots on target to France's two. The latter had eight touches in the opposition box. The Netherlands managed four touches. France had 61% ball possession and 0.25 expected goals.
How did the second half pan out?
The second half missed the flair of the opening 45 minutes until France stepped things up post the hour mark. Marcus Thuram dragged a shot wide before Aurelien Tchouameni saw his header miss by inches. Griezmann had a glorious chance at the far post but he scuffed the finish. Netherlands' Xavi Simons had a goal ruled out controversially. Both sides settled for a draw.
Simons' goal ruled out
Simons scored in the 69th minute but the linesman's flag went up for offside on Denzel Dumfries affecting the play from an offside position without touching it. However, he wasn't on Maignan's eyeline. VAR deemed Dumfries was blocking the keeper when the shot came in.
Here are the match stats
Netherlands had 0.33 expected goals compared to France's 1.42. Didier Deschamp's France made 15 attempts with three shots on target. The Dutch had 8 attempts with 4 shots on target. France had 20 touches in the opposition box. The Dutch had 12 touches.
Contrasting records for the Netherlands
Netherlands' Bart Verbruggen completed 97.5 percent of his passes against France (39/40). It's the highest accuracy for any goalkeeper with at least 40 passes on record in a match at the European Championship (since 1980). The Dutch failed to find the net for the second time in their last 36 matches. Notably, France are the opponents on both occasions.
4th meeting at the Euros
This was the 4th meeting between the two teams at the Euros. France won the quarter-final clash at Euro 1996 (penalties). The Dutch won the next two group-stage matches in 2000 and 2008.
