Group D favourites France were held to a 1-1 draw by an inspired Poland team in their final group stage match at EURO 2024 at the Signal-Iduna-Park in Dortmund on Tuesday, June 25th.
Despite being widely expected to cruise to the top spot in Group D, Didier Deschamps’ men were left frustrated as they conceded a late penalty that allowed Robert Lewandowski to cancel out Kylian Mbappe’s earlier spot-kick.
The match started brightly for Poland, who were already out of the Euros, but looked determined to avoid a third straight defeat and at least restore some pride.
Michal Probierz’s side threatened early on, with Lewandowski coming close to opening the scoring with a header that deflected narrowly wide off William Saliba, who was superb throughout the game.
France, on the other hand, struggled to find their rhythm, with Theo Hernandez and Ousmane Dembele forcing Lukasz Skorupski into close-range saves, but failing to truly test the Polish goalkeeper.
As the first half wore on, France began to assert their dominance, and they were unlucky not to take the lead on the stroke of half-time. Mbappe, making his return from injury, was twice denied by the impressive Skorupski, who produced a pair of heroic saves to keep the scores level at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with France piling on the pressure in search of the opener. Their persistence finally paid off in the 68th minute when Mbappe confidently converted from the penalty spot after Dembele was fouled in the box by Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior.
However, just as it seemed France would cruise to victory, a late twist in the tale saw Poland awarded a penalty of their own. Lewandowski, who had been relatively quiet for much of the game, stepped up and made no mistake at the second attempt, beating Mike Maignan to restore parity and secure a valuable, but useless point for his side.
The draw means that Poland, who had already been eliminated from the tournament, can hold their heads high after putting in a determined and disciplined performance against the two-time European champions.
For France, the result is a major disappointment, as they missed the opportunity to finish top of the group and will now have to face a tougher opponent in the Round of 16.
Deschamps will no doubt be concerned by his team’s inability to kill off the game and will need to find a way to unlock stubborn defenses if they are to have any hope of winning the European crown.
Les Bleus will be back in action on Monday, July 1st, and will face the Runner-up of Group E at the Dusseldorf Arena at 7 pm. Poland will catch the next bus back home.
