France and the Netherlands edged towards the last 16 of Euro 2024 after a 0-0 draw in Leipzig that failed to catch fire in the absence of Kylian Mbappe.
The French captain sat out the whole match from the bench after breaking his nose in France’s opening 1-0 win over Austria just four days ago.
Xavi Simons had a goal controversially ruled out for the Dutch, while Antoine Griezmann wasted two glorious chances for France.
A share of the spoils leaves the sides level on four points at the top of Group D, one ahead of Austria who beat Poland 3-1 earlier on Friday.
France take on the Poles, while the Netherlands face Austria in the final games of the section on Tuesday.
Les Bleus had won both meetings when these sides met in qualifying but Mbappe scored four of France’s six goals in those games.
Roared on by an orange wall around two-thirds of the Leipzig Stadium, the Dutch nearly pounced on any French uncertainty within a minute.
The…
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