Julius Okorie
Returnee France striker, Kylian Mbappe, converted a penalty to open his goal account at the ongoing Euro 2024 Championship in Germany, on Tuesday.
Mbappe returning from injury and wearing a single colour face mask in line with UEFA rules, converted a 56th minute penalty for France and it was looking as though Les Bleus were running to earn a lone goal victory.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBut VAR intervened as Poland were awarded a contentious penalty, after Dayot Upamecano was ruled to have fouled substitute, Karol Swiderski, in the box. Contact was minimal but Italian official, Marco Guida, gave the penalty after being asked to visit the monitor. Poland strong man, Robert Lewandowski, did not hesitate to convert the resultant penalty in the 79th minute.
Lewandowski saw his initial penalty saved by Mike Maignan but VAR spotted the France goalkeeper off his line, so the effort was retaken. Lewandowski passed the second test, albeit via the woodwork.
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It was a frustrating afternoon for France, with Mbappe denied four times by Poland goalkeeper, Lukasz Skorupski. Dembele also saw a one-on-one saved by the stand-in stopper.
France thus ended the group stages with just one win, one goal scored by their 26-player squad, and their second-placed finish means they will face the runners-up in Group E one of Romania, Belgium, Slovakia or Ukraine. Mbappe who has been tipped among players to compete in goal scorers’ chart will now be hoping to deliver more in the knockouts if the 2024 Olympic Games hosts rise to the occasion.
In one of the earlier matches played today, Austria beat Netherlands 3-2 with a Dutch own goal Donyell Malen, serving as a plus for Austria.
Group stage matches are expected to end tomorrow, with four matches lined up.
Slovakia face Romania, Georgia against Portugal, Ukraine versus Belgium and Czechia against Turkey.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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