At 0:00 a.m. on July 2, Beijing time, the 1/8 finals of the 2024 European Championship in Germany ushered in a strong matchup, at the Dusseldorf Arena, the French team faced the Belgian team. In the first half, both teams did not score, but France received three yellow cards; In the second half, substitute Muani scored an own goal from Vertonghen in the 85th minute. In the end, the French team eliminated the Belgian team 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
France are ranked second in the world and Belgium are ranked third in the world, a contest between two of Europe's highest-ranked teams. France won 1 and drew 2 in the group stage, only qualified for second place, and were robbed of the top spot by Austria. The Belgian team did not play well in the group stage, with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss accumulating 4 points, ranking behind Romania in terms of goals and finishing second in the group. The two teams met at the 2018 World Cup, when France beat their opponents 1-0 and eventually won the title.
As soon as the game began, France had a shot on goal and Mbappe fired wide. In the 14th minute, Mbappe's volley from the left side of the box hit Onana and went off the line, but the referee gave Belgium a goal kick, and Tchouameni stepped forward to question the referee, and he was given a yellow card. In the 23rd minute, Antoine Griezmann tackled Doku back and also reached a yellow card. Belgium won a free-kick from the left side of the pitch, Kevin De Bruyne fired a direct shot at goal, and Maignan kept the ball out with his foot. Belgium then counter-attacked, with Rabiot getting a yellow card for bringing down Doku with the ball and will miss the next game.
In the 26th minute, Doku's breakthrough on the left side of the field created danger, and the French team was in the penalty area, and the defenders continued to block the shot with their bodies. In the 32nd minute, Te'o stepped forward to the left side of the field and fired into the far corner, but the ball went wide of the post. In the 34th minute, the French team suddenly picked up, Kounde stepped forward to receive the ball, received the ball and passed to the penalty area, and Thuram's header was deflected. In the 45th minute, Mbappe advanced with the ball from the left side, and after Doku's defense to the bottom line, he reversed the triangle pass, and Tchouameni in the middle volleyed high. At the end of the first half, the two teams were temporarily tied 0-0.
In the second half, Kante received the ball in front and crossed, Tchouameni in the middle pushed the ball directly, and goalkeeper Castels saved the ball sideways. In the 50th minute, the French team's set-piece attack in the front, Thuram's header hit the top of the goal. In the 54th minute, Mbappe cut inside with the ball from the left side and came to the middle of the penalty area with a right-footed volley, but unfortunately it was high again. In the 56th minute, Kounde stepped forward to the right side of the field and crossed, and Mbappe swept wide in the middle. At the start of the second half, France pressed their opponents.
In the 61st minute, De Bruyne suddenly sent a through plug after a steal at the back, Carrasco received the ball to form a single knife, he came to the right side of the penalty area to volley, and the ball was blocked by the timely return of Te'o sliding tackle. In the 62nd minute, France made a substitution, with Muani replacing Thuram Jr. Subsequently, Belgium also responded, replacing Opponda with Mangala. In the 65th minute, Griezmann received the ball in front of the penalty area and shot, and the ball hit high again. In the 69th minute, Antoine Griezmann picked up the ball in the box and the unguarded Tchouameni followed up with a powerful long-range shot with his right foot, this time high again.
In the 71st minute, Belgium had a chance when Romelu Lukaku blasted a left-footed shot from the left side of the box that was blocked by Maignan. In the 74th minute, Saliba stepped forward to the right side of the penalty area, took the ball past Doku and volleyed a left-footed shot into the near corner, but the ball was deflected. In the 78th minute, Kounde crossed on the right side of the front, and Mbappe received the ball and volleyed it away. In the 83rd minute, the Belgian team crossed from the left side of the front, De Bruyne stopped the ball and passed the momentum, came to the penalty area and volleyed vigorously, Maignan saved the ball. In the 85th minute, the French team attacked the front field and patiently organized, Kante took the ball and sent it straight through, substitute Muani volleyed with his right foot, the ball touched Vertonghen and changed the line into the net, France led Belgium 1-0, and the official counted this goal as Vertonghen's own goal.
In the end, the match ended with France winning 1-0 against Belgium.