Tournament-favorites France beat Austria 1-0 to open their EURO 2024 with three points and a focus on defensive solidity in Frankfurt on Monday.
The two-time European champions (1984 and 2000) were a little mixed up in attack, but their back line was fantastic as William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano held down the middle with Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez thriving out wide.
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Maximilian Wober’s 38th-minute own goal was the lone marker as the teams combined for just 20 shot attempts and 2.8 xG.
But there will be a lot of attention paid to the status of captain Kylian Mbappe, who suffered a nose injury late in the game and then took a yellow card for returning to the pitch without permission.
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Under Deschamps, France have appeared in the final of three of the last four major tournaments (EURO 2016, 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup) under Deschamps, but their last EURO was the outlier and featured a last-16 exit to Switzerland in penalties.
Austria are in their third-straight European Championship and seeking a second-straight knockout round.
France’s back line nearly unbeatable, but Mbappe status in spotlight
Austria had one truly dangerous chance thwarted by goalkeeper Mike Maignan, and the backs took care of the rest.
The underdogs managed just 0.11 xG in the second half despite 57% possession as Saliba and the back line shut them down.
Kylian Mbappe produced the Austrian own goal with a hard cross from the right, but it was the Real Madrid man’s 90th-minute problem that will loom over the French camp.
Mbappe’s attempted header in the box saw him smash his face into the shoulder of Kevin Danso, and his bleeding nose raises questions about his status moving forward. The yellow he saw for returning to the pitch and sitting down could also affect later matches in this tournament.
Austria vs France player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Our friends at fotmob.com noted 13 defensive actions from RB Leipzig midfielder Nicolas Seiwald in branding him Austria’s top performer, while it gave Man of the Match status to longtime Chelsea and current Al-Ittihad midfielder N’Golo Kante.
What’s next?
Group D’s two winners meet June 21 in Leipzig when France face the Netherlands, with Poland and Austria facing a desperation scrap the same day.
June 25 is the final match day for the group, with Netherlands playing Austria and France squaring up with Poland.
How to watch Austria vs France, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, Monday (June 17)
Stadium: Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf
How to watch on TV in USA: Fox Sports
Austria vs France live updates — By Nick Mendola
Austria vs France final score: 0-1
Goalscorers: Wober (o.g. 38')
Mbappe injury, yellow card (video)
The second half just hasn’t moved the meter much. France might’ve had a second goal through Mbappe and have taken eight shots to just two from Austria in the frame.
Mbappe got a yellow for the silliest reason, as a poorly-refereed game now has one of the tournament’s true stars carrying a caution because France weren’t allowed to sub him off with an apparent facial injury, so he sat down on the pitch on the edge of stoppage time.
Nine minutes stoppage to come.
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2024Ouch 😬
Mbappé had to be treated on the field after this contact pic.twitter.com/bFfzYfPvsu
Halftime — Austria 0-1 France
Austria’s 11 committed fouls tell the tale of the first half, which was tense and frantic at times without many hints of fluiidity.
Burschen could’ve had the lead through Baumgartner but if someone was going to lead you’d say it should be France even if it took an own goal to deliver the difference.
Austria does lead in xG. This is how the underdogs would’ve liked to see this half play out aside from the own goal.
Austria own goal — Austria 0-1 France (38th minute)
Kylian Mbappe drives the right and fires a hard cross from the end line toward a sea of bodies.
Ex-Leeds man Wober’s rough half continues as the yellow-carrying defender nods it into his goal.
France lead 1-0.
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2024When Mbappé makes a run in the box good things happen for France 🔥
Here's another look at the own goal that put Les Bleus on top ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qRXVw3V7vu
Les Bleus in proper scrap
Austria has not been able to turn any of its possession into danger, instead seeing minor moments from counter attacks.
Marcel Sabitzer knocks down a cross for Christoph Baumgartner, who is 1v1 with Mike Maignan.
The sliding French keeper gets a piece of Baumgartner’s shot, and the ball bounces over the goal. Somehow, it’s a goal kick instead of a corner.
0-0, 37'.
Still all-France, as Austria sees yellow
Antoine Griezmann gets a chance for the French, who have the game’s first three shots.
Maximilian Wober is in the book with a yellow for chopping down Ousmane Dembele.
Austria’s Florian Grillitsch is shaken up but looks prepared to stay on the pitch after treatment.
We’re scoreless 22 minutes into the game.
France on front foot
Kylian Mbappe’s driven shot was saved for a corner kick in the best chance of the first 10 minutes.
Les Bleus have had 57% of the ball and Mbappe’s shot is the lone attempt by either team.
Austria lineup
Pentz, Wober, Danso, Posch, Seiwald, Sabitzer, Grillitsch, Gregoritsch, Mwene, Baumgartner, Laimer
France lineup
Maignan, Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, T. Hernandez, Rabiot, Kante, Griezmann, Dembele, Thuram, Mbappe
Austria team news, focus
Ralf Rangnick has been in charge since leaving his post as Manchester United’s interim manager in May 2022 and guided Austria to a 2nd-place finish, only a point behind group winners Belgium, to achieve comfortable qualification (nine points clear of 3rd-place Sweden). Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer led the way with four goals during qualifying, followed by Freiburg forward Michael Gregoritsch and RB Leipzig midfielder Christoph Baumgartner with three apiece. Marko Arnautovic, whose 112 caps are seven more than anyone else in Austria’s history (David Alaba misses out on EURO 2024 after tearing his ACL in December), remains in the mix as well.
France team news, focus
Kylian Mbappe is 25 years old and primed to star in his fifth major tournament already, hoping to become one of six players to complete the World Cup/European Championship winner’s medals set. Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele, Benjamin Pavard and Alphonse Areola are the other holdovers from the 2018 team. Deschamps has raised a few eyebrows by hand-picking Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano as his starting center backs, despite William Saliba being in world-class form for Arsenal all season. Qualification was a breeze for France, dropping just two points (a 2-2 draw with Greece on the final day, months after securing qualification) in the process. Nine different players scored in a 14-0 victory over Gibraltar in November.
Austria vs France prediction
They have youth, they have experience, they attacking firepower and they have a rock-solid foundation at the back. For them to not win this tournament, France will likely have to beat themselves. Austria 1-3 France.
