Glimpses from the last match day of Group D. (AP)
Austria pulled off an 3-2 upset against Netherlands on Tuesday and topped Group D as France were held 1-1 against Poland and finished the group as the 2nd placed team.
The Dutch, meanwhile, will now have to depend on the other remaining matches to see if they can qualify as one of the best 3rd placed team.
A Donyell Malen own goal had put Austria in front in the first half with the Oranje equalizing through Cody Gakpo in the 47th minute in the second half. The scores would remain level for 12 minutes before Romano Schmid put Austria ahead in the 59th minute.
Memphis Depay would draw Netherlands level in the 75th minute before Marcel Sabitzer smashed the Austrians ahead 3-2 which remained the final result of the match
Austria have 2 wins from 3 matches and a loss while Netherlands won one, tied one and lost one in their 3 group stage games.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe opened his account in the tournament after scoring a penalty to put France ahead in the 56th minute after the first half ended scoreless. Robert Lewandowski would slot in a penalty of his own in the 79th minute ensuring that France didn’t finish the group as winners.
Mbappe returned to France’s starting lineup on Tuesday, eight days after breaking his nose. Mbappe, France’s captain, will be wearing a protective mask for the Group D closer at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.
The Real Madrid-bound striker sustained the broken nose late in France’s 1-0 win over Austria on June 17 and was an unused substitute in the 0-0 draw with the Netherlands on Friday.
Mbappé has since featured in a behind-closed-doors match against a local youth team in Paderborn, where France’s training base is in Germany.
This was also the first time that Mbappe has scored in a European Championship after failing to score in four games in the 2021 tournament, nor against Austria.
