France beat unlucky Belgium to advance into quarterfinals

BERLIN - France secured their place in the last eight after benefitting from Jan Vertonghen's late own goal in their 1-0 win over Belgium in the round of 16 match of Euro 2024 at Dusseldorf's Merkur Spiel-Arena on Monday.

The French team took control from the starting whistle, while the defensively-minded Belgians waited for counterattack opportunities.

Chances were scarce in the opening stages, but the match became livelier as it progressed. France goalkeeper Mike Maignan had to defuse Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick in the 24th minute, and Marcus Thuram headed Jules Kounde's dangerous cross just wide at the half-hour mark.

France increased the pressure before the break but failed to open the scoring. Aurelien Tchouameni's long-range effort narrowly missed the target, and he also wasted a good build-up play by Kylian Mbappe near the area.

Didier Deschamps' men started the second half with momentum, as Thuram headed over the goal and Mbappe couldn't beat Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels twice in quick succession.

The Red Devils remained dangerous on counterattacks, but Theo Hernandez neutralized the situation with a perfectly timed tackle against Yannick Carrasco, who had only Maignan to beat at the hour mark.

Belgium pressed forward and created more chances, as Maignan had to palm away Romelu Lukaku's shot on target before defusing De Bruyne's 16-meter effort moments later.

However, Les Bleus had the last laugh. N'Golo Kante danced through Belgium's defense before feeding Randal Kolo Muani, whose effort deflected off Vertonghen, leaving Casteels hapless in the 85th minute.

"An own goal, if it's deflected, it means someone had to shoot. If that finishes in the net, so be it. The best teams are at this Euro and the games are played with high intensity. We have always got the capability to score more. It's been tricky for us since the start of the Euro, but we have always had chances," said France coach Deschamps.

"An hour after the final whistle and conceding a late own goal, it's hard to go into an analysis. We will analyze everything at this EURO and see in a few weeks," said Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco.

With this result, France will face Portugal in the quarterfinal encounter in Hamburg on Friday.