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Key events
Must France win this tournament Didier Deschamps will become the first man to win both the Euros and the World Cup at the same time as a player and coach. What a ridiculous career.
The atmosphere in Düsseldorf is building.
The match report of Belgium 0-1 Slovakia landed.
Remarkably, this is William Saliba’s first competitive start for France. Didier Deschamps openly questioned the Arsenal centre-back in March: “He’s having a good season but he’s also doing things I don’t like so much. For France, he has had limited game time, but when he does, it hasn’t necessarily gone well. The hierarchy doesn’t favor him right now, but he’s here. With certain players, I make sure I hold on because it can be confidence or little blocks that can shift.
Deschamps persevered and it was Saliba who won Konate from Liverpool.
That was the early score todayin case you’re catching up: Romania 3-0 Ukraine.
Let’s unpack these teams. Austria should line up in a 4-2-3-1, while France will adopt their normal 4-3-3, with Rabiot and Kante a more defensive-minded pairing alongside Antoine Griezmann, who rivals Kylian Mbappe as the most important player in Deschamps ‘ country.
Rabiot has apparently recovered from a knock, while Chuameni is not 100% fit despite being named on the bench. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia-based Kante has been selected to replace Chuameni for his first start in two years, beating Kamavinga and Zaire-Emery to a starting spot. There has been some debate over whether Marcus Thuram could lose his place to Olivier Giroud, but it is the Inter man who is ahead of the veteran.
The teams!
Austria: Penz, Posh, Danso, Wober, Mwene, Seiwald, Grilich, Laimer, Sabitzer, Baumgartner, Gregorich.
subtitles: Lindner, Trauner, Arnautovic, Prass, Hedl, Querfeld, Lienhart, Kainz, Schmidt, Daniliuk, Seidl, Wimmer, Weimann, Entrup, Gruhl.
France: Mainjan, Kunde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez, Kante, Rabiot, Dembele, Griezmann, Thuram, Mbappe.
subtitles: Samba, Pawar, Mendy, Kamavinga, Chuameni, Giroud, Mouani, Zaire Emery, Fofana, Coman, Klaus, Areola, Konate, Barcola.
Referee: Jesus Hill Manzano (Spain)
David Alaba may be out of the lineup due to injury, but he is with Austria participates in this tournament as a “non-playing captain”. Here he looks pretty focused tonight.
Final match: Belgium 0-1 Slovakia.
Remarkable result! The first big shock of the tournament.
Two goals disallowed for Belgium and Romelu Lukaku, one for offside and one for handball in the build-up. The second seemed a bit harsh, but correct within the current rules.
What a year it has been for the former Stoke City players. S Joselu scored two late goals against Bayern to send Real Madrid to the Champions League final, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting also featured in the semi-final for the German side. Now 35 years old, Marko Arnautovic may have one last chance to make his mark Austria on the international stage. The Inter striker is the most capped player and second highest scorer in the national team’s history but is expected to start on the bench, currently behind Freiberg’s Michael Gregoric in the rankings.
Only 15 minutes left between Belgium and Slovakia, with the latter leading 1-0! Join Rob Smyth here for the closing stages of this game.
Preamble
What a game this is, perhaps the most exciting on paper of the tournament so far. France, who have played in all but one major tournament final since 2016, against a resurgent and intriguing Austria a side led by their Ralf Rangnick, their maverick manager who spurned Bayern Munich’s advances to remain in charge of Das Team for this tournament.
this article does a much better job of explaining how Austria got to Group D, but the short answer is with an excellent qualifying campaign in which they finished just a point behind Belgium, winning six of their eight games.
Rangnick imposed a fluid style – quick transitions, press and counter-press – that won over the Austrian players and crowd, and even without their injured talisman David Alaba and midfield dynamo Xavier Schlager, they are a real force and threat to the French. Get any result here and Austria will be looking to get out of this group, which also includes Poland and the Netherlands.
That’s the way it is.
They are France France. Despite an outrageous roster of talent brimming with both youth and experience and arguably the best international manager in the world, Didier Deschamps, we’re never quite sure what we’re going to get. Recent results such as a 2-0 defeat by Germany and a 0-0 draw with Canada mean they are perceived as a team that lacks fluidity while off the pitch, much of the build-up to this game is centered around the players political opinions on Emmanuel Macron’s shocking announcement a week ago to call early parliamentary elections. Still, it won’t be a surprise
So, a lot to digest. That should be a cracker.
Start: 20:00 BST or 21:00 in Dusseldorf.
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