Randal Kolo Muani came off the bench to force an own goal from Jan Vertonghen as France beat Belgium 1-0 in Dusseldorf.
The battle between the two heavyweights -ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively – failed to live up to the billing.
A forgettable watch it was, for fans who made their way to the Dusseldorf Arena as, yet again, two pre-tournament favourites failed to deliver.
Chances were few and far in the game, with a measured approach taken by both sides.
Kylian Mbappé came close for the French on a couple of occasions but his attempts managed to find the red army of Belgium supporters behind the French goal as both teams headed into the break deadlocked.
The second half had a similar feel about it, as the lull performance dished out from both sides carried on.
Belgium’s Lukaku -who has had a tournament to forget with three of his strikes being disallowed- stung the palms of Mike Maignan in the French post.
Lukaku’s strike -15 minutes from time – was Belgium’s first attempt on target, with skipper Kevin De Bruyne latching onto another effort 3 minutes later.
Although being forced to sit back for a large chunk of the game, Belgium came out of their shelves as they hoped to get something out of the game.
The Belgians managed to get something, which was a sucker punch.
Substitute Kolo Muani, who had been introduced on the 62nd minute for the ineffective Marcus Thuram, saw his 85th minute strike ricochet off Jan Vertonghen and into the net.
Deschamps substitution, which was the only one of the game for the 2022 World Cup Finalists, proved effective as France sealed passage to the quarter final, where they await either of Portugal or Slovenia.
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Story by: Andrews Bamfo| univers. ug.edu.gh
