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France joined Spain on Friday as the second nation to make the semifinal round of the 2024 Euros. The star-studded team did so by beating Portugal 5-4 in penalties after playing 120-plus-minutes of a scoreless draw. With that result, Kylian Mbappe and company made history at Euro 2024 that none of the French players will be proud of.
“France are in the semi final with zero open play goals scored. First time ever in the history of the Euros,” international football insider Fabrizio Romano posted on Friday.
France got to this point by beating Austria 1-0 on a Maximilian Wöber own goal. They then played a 0-0 draw with Belgium and also tied Poland 1-1 with their lone goal coming on a 56th-minute Kylian Mbappe penalty. In the Round of 16, France advanced to the quarters by beating Belgium 1-0 with the only score coming on a Jan Vertonghen own goal.
The silver lining here, as Romano also pointed out in his tweet, is that France also has “Zero goals also conceded from open play.”
Les Bleus now head to the final four to take on Spain, which will be without one of their best playmaking midfielders, Pedri, after he suffered an injury against Germany on a Toni Kroos slide tackle. The Barcelona star is out for the remainder of the 2024 Euros.
Las Rojas will also play without defenders Robin Le Normand and Daniel Carvajal who are suspended for yellow card accumulation.
This is a huge matchup of international superpowers that will be a fascinating test of styles. In contrast to France’s zero goals from open play and three goals total, Spain has slotted home 11 goals in four games against Croatia, Italy, Albania, and Georgia.
What’s wrong with France?
The France national team roster for Euro 2024 has as many, if not more, boldfaced names as any roster in the tournament. Led by Kylian Mbappe, the starting 11 includes players from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germaine, Juventus, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal.
However, the French have two major problems that have caused their lack of firepower at the 2024 Euros.
First, Mbappe suffered a broken nose in the team’s opening match and hasn’t been the same since. While he’s been playing with a mask, he’s been noticeably less aggressive, especially on headers and right in front of goal.
Without the tip of the spear, the team’s scoring has suffered, and the other young stars on the wings like Marcus Thuram and Ousmane Dembélé haven’t picked up the slack.
The other issue for Les Bleus is the midfield. The team is without a true offensive playmaker to connect the defense and offense. Manager Didier Deschamps’ roster is packed with world-class defensive midfielders like N’golo Kante, Adrien Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Eduardo Camavinga.
None of these players are offensive creators, though, so 33-year-old Antoine Griezmann — whose best position is as a No. 10 or second striker and would be the perfect player to pick up the scoring slack from Mbappe — has had to play deeper to connect France’s defense and its forwards.
Despite the scoring issues and the unwanted record, France is still one of the most dangerous teams in the 2024 Euros, and if they do start finding the back of the net, watch out, Europe.
