Euro 2024: France secure 1-0 win over Belgium in last-16 match

France secured a nervy 1-0 win over an underwhelming Belgium to book their spot in the last eight of the ongoing Euro 2024.

An 85th-minute deflected shot by substitute Randal Kolo Muani, recorded as a Jan Vertonghen own goal, gave France a deserved victory in the last-16 match. France will face Portugal in the quarter-final on Friday in Hamburg.

France dominated a cautious game but struggled with their finishing. The breakthrough came through a combination of passes, finished off by N'Golo Kante, which created space for Kolo Muani to turn and mishit a shot. The ball deflected off Jan Vertonghen's leg, wrong-footing Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

"It’s beautiful. It was tight but we enjoyed possession and we had more opportunities," France coach Didier Deschamps was quoted as saying by Reuters after the match. "We did a lot of good things. We have to savour it, it’s quite an achievement. We’re in the quarter finals, they’re going home. It’s a good habit."

France and Belgium, officially the second and third ranked teams in the world, respectively, both entered the knockout stage after unimpressive final group-stage draws. Each team managed only two goals from their three games, appearing extremely cautious in attack.

Belgium aimed to slow the game down, sometimes playing at less than walking pace. Kevin de Bruyne was often positioned just in front of his back four. The best chance of the first half for France came after 34 minutes when Jules Kounde's curling cross was headed wide by Marcus Thuram, who berated himself for the miss.

Aurelien Tchouameni forced Belgium's Koen Casteels into his first save soon after the break. An ever-active Kylian Mbappe miskicked a decent chance as France began forming some cohesive passing sequences.

Belgium had a rare attacking moment curtailed by a brilliant Theo Hernandez tackle just as Yannick Carrasco was about to shoot. Later, Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne forced good saves from Mike Maignan.

France's finishing woes persisted, with William Saliba and Mbappe both missing the target before Kolo Muani's decisive goal. The underwhelming game saw France still without a goal from open play in the tournament, with two own goals and a Kylian Mbappe penalty across their four games so far.

Belgium’s tactics to sit and absorb pressure left them on the defensive, though they managed a couple of good late chances when it was still 0-0. Their exit was dispiritingly tame.

The match ended with France securing their place in the quarter-finals, leaving Belgium to reflect on a defensive strategy that ultimately failed.