Kylian Mbappé made a significant impact in his return to France’s starting lineup, scoring in their 1-1 draw with Poland during the final Group D match of Euro 2024. The draw ensured France’s advancement to the knockout stages of the tournament.
This was Mbappé’s first appearance since breaking his nose in France’s opening 1-0 victory over Austria. Although he was named on the bench for the subsequent 0-0 draw with the Netherlands, he did not play.
France concluded the group stage with one win and two draws from three matches. They dominated possession and continuously pressured the Polish goal, finally breaking through early in the second half.
In the 55th minute, Ousmane Dembélé was fouled in the penalty area by Poland’s Jakub Kiwior. Mbappé stepped up to take the penalty, successfully beating goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski to give France the lead. Mbappé celebrated by removing the protective mask he must wear for the rest of the tournament.
MASKED MBAPPE PUTS FRANCE ON TOP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/5AknKWJhnv
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 25, 2024
Poland equalized in the 79th minute through Robert Lewandowski. His initial penalty kick was saved by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but it was determined that Maignan had left his line early. Lewandowski converted the re-take to level the score.
THE SECOND CHANCE IS GOOD FOR LEWANDOWSKI 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/95plCNPMel
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 25, 2024
With France’s draw against Poland and Austria’s 3-2 victory over the Netherlands, Austria topped Group D, while France finished second. The Netherlands ended the group stage with four points, securing one of the four best third-place team spots available across the six groups in the tournament.
