2023-12-03 10:23:08
See you on June 17 in Düsseldorf at 9 p.m.! Euro 2024 will have started three days ago and the opening match between Germany and Scotland, but it is on June 17 that French supporters will really enter their competition. Didier Deschamps’ players will first face Austria at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, for their first match of Euro 2024. An already tricky match.
“It’s a really underrated nation,” assured Guy Stephan after the draw. They have players like David Alaba, who plays for Real Madrid, like Marcel Sabitzer from Dortmund or Kevin Danso from Lens, who is a real warrior, a bit like Rüdiger in style. We went 1-1 there, we got shaken. They are a very good team collectively. It has density to defend, it is a team that harasses the opponent well with pressing. We will have to be able to technically get rid of the pressing to play our game.”
“We had difficulty against Poland”
Just four days later, the Blues will travel to the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig to challenge the Netherlands at 9 p.m., for what risks being a Group D final. “The Dutch are going to be revengeful because we are coming to beat them twice, at home and away, underlines Didier Deschamps’ assistant. It’s a quality team, with good individuals and good team play. »
On June 25 at 6 p.m., the French will conclude their group stage journey with a match at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, the usual home of BVB. In front of more than 66,000 spectators, they will be waiting for a team from path A of the play-offs. These will be Wales, Finland, Estonia or Poland, which seems to be the strongest nation.
“We had difficulty against Poland in the round of 16 of the World Cup,” recalls Guy Stephan. Kylian (Mbappé) made the difference but we had difficulty… Since then they have changed coaches. For Finland, from memory, it was our first official match in September 2012. We won 1-0 there with a goal from (Abou) Diaby. Fate will give us what we must have. Regarding the supervision of the month of March, there will surely be things to remember, the same in June. »
Turkey or the Czech Republic in the round of 16?
If everything goes as planned for Kylian Mbappé’s Blues, the adventure will not stop there. If they have negotiated their group D well by finishing in first position, they will then meet on July 2 in Leipzig, to face the second in group F in the round of 16 of Euro 2024. They would then find the Turkey, Portugal, the Czech Republic or a team from the play-offs (Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece or Kazakhstan).
In the event of second place, France would then rather play second in Group E, on July 1 in Düsseldorf. In this group E, Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and a play-off team (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Israel or Iceland) will compete for the qualifying places. If the Blues fail to finish in the top two, they could still grab a place in the round of 16 by finishing among the four best thirds.
They would then face a team that finished first in their group. But whatever path they take, Antoine Griezmann and his team will hope to be on the pitch at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, on July 14, 2024, for the grand final. National holiday, and coronation day for the Blues?
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