In the early morning of July 2, Beijing time, the fifth quarterfinal of the European Cup was played between France and Belgium, which was also the focus of the knockout round, with France ranked 2nd in the world and Belgium ranked 3rd.
However, in the group stage of this European Championship, both teams have only won 1 game. Belgium actually dragged their feet before the final round of the final round before the team barely qualified.
After the opening, the stronger French team took the initiative to press, while Belgium retreated under heavy pressure and took the initiative to show weakness.
In the 14th minute, the French team took a tactical corner, and Mbappe's shot in the penalty area hit Onana's shoulder and bounced off the bottom line, and the referee who was close at hand actually awarded a goal kick.
Tchouameni stepped forward for the first time to give a hint and express his dissatisfaction, and the referee did not hesitate to give Tchouameni a yellow card and look directly at Mbappe.
After 20 minutes, France had five shots on goal, while Belgium still had 0 shots.
In the 23rd minute, Belgium won a free kick on the left side of the penalty area, De Bruyne chose to shoot, and the ball suddenly fell in front of Maignan, but Maignan reacted in time to block the ball with his foot.
Ten minutes later, France almost took the lead with a dangerous shot on goal.
Yu Parmecano's diagonal long pass accurately found Kounde, who did not slack off in the slightest, decisively crossed, and Thuram Jr. grabbed the landing point, but unfortunately the final header was slightly wide.
As the game progressed, Belgium was once again on the back foot. In the 38th minute, Tchouameni bombarded the goal from outside the penalty area and failed to reproduce the classic picture of the World Cup.
In first-half stoppage time, Mbappe struggled hard to get a chance, and Tchouameni's outflanked shot was put into the anti-aircraft gun.
At half-time, the two teams exchanged scores, and both teams shot 9-1, and France had the advantage.
At the start of the second half, Tchouameni continued to play with his long-range shots, which Fass blocked and Castles made a save at the limit.
In the 73rd minute, Saliba turned into a guard with a knife, shook off Doku in the penalty area, chose to play the near corner, and the ball was deflected.
Belgium also had chances, with De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku both having shots saved by Maignan. The French team continued to stick to the ground play.
In the 85th minute, France finally scored, receiving a through ball from N'Golo Kante, substitute Muani shot hard, the ball hit Vertonghen's leg to change direction, and the goalkeeper sighed at the goal. It has to be said that Deschamps' substitution worked wonders.
In the end, with Vertonghen's own goal, the French team defeated the world's No. 3 Belgium 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship.