Netherlands vs France live updates: Euro 2024 Group D team news ...

More often than not, the now-Real Madrid winger Kylian Mbappe occupies a central position rather than attacking the back post when the team is attacking wide areas.

From there, Mbappe constantly offers himself as a cutback option while the centre-forward is dragging the defensive line deeper.

You will find examples of this pattern of play — including one from France’s qualifier against Group D rivals Netherlands — in Ahmed Walid’s piece.

Just follow the link below.

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Euro 2024 Group D guide: France’s Mbappe plan, Netherlands’ shape-shifting and Austria’s energy

As the Netherlands’ wide forwards combine with their wing-backs in the final third, one feature of this attack is the wing-backs rotating positions with the forwards to be a threat inside the penalty area.

On other occasions, the narrow positioning of the wing-backs creates space for the Dutch forwards in wide areas.

You can see some of the examples of this in Ahmed Walid’s piece, which you can check out in full below.

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Euro 2024 Group D guide: France’s Mbappe plan, Netherlands’ shape-shifting and Austria’s energy

The Dutch defence was solid in most of their qualifying campaign, managing five clean sheets in six games against Greece, Gibraltar (twice each) and the Republic of Ireland.

But against stronger opposition, their back line has suffered. In their two group matches against France, they conceded six times.

On top of that, they let in four against Croatia and three against Italy in the 2022-23 Nations League finals last June, and two against Germany in March.

The risk-reward of giving Mbappe a free hand.

On one hand, its attacking benefits have been clear in possession and on attacking transitions for years, but France’s narrow 2-1 quarter-final victory against England in the 2022 World Cup illustrated their left side can be exploited when facing strong opposition.

Before that game, Gareth Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland hinted at the idea of attacking France down Mbappe’s side:

???? “There is always a plus and a minus to everyone. It’s that cat-and-mouse of, ‘Yes, we have still got to try to deal with him’ but we also have to try to exploit the weakness that his super-strength delivers.

“Trying to adapt your team to cover for that while still trying to create your own problems is the challenge.”

Despite losing by the odd goal that day, England’s approach worked and only small details cost them.

If you are a regular viewer of the Premier League, then you are likely familiar with Anthony Taylor.

Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, he worked his way up to the Premier League after starting out in the Northern Premier League — English football’s seventh tier.

His first game at this summer’s European Championship is one of the group stage’s biggest fixtures, as World Cup runners-up France take on the Netherlands in Leipzig tonight.

Read more below...

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Who is Anthony Taylor? The Premier League referee coming into Euro 2024 after a testing season

France faced a classic potential banana skin first up with Ralf Rangnick's hard-running, dynamic Austria.

And the Austrians proved a tough test, restricting Les Bleus to just three shots on target.

In the end, the only goal of the game - a Max Wober own goal - was fortunate for France, both in how the ball went in, and also in that Austria should have had a corner shortly beforehand.

The referee erroneously gave a goal kick, France went up the other end via Kylian Mbappe and very soon after scored the winner. They will be looking for a more convincing performance and result today.

In their first match of the tournament, the Netherlands actually went 1-0 down after Adam Buksa's early goal.

Cody Gakpo equalised just before the half-hour mark, before the big man - Wout Weghorst - stepped up late on with a sweet first-time finish after coming on as a substitute to give them three points first up.

Same again today would do very nicely.

France haven’t moved away from the approach that guided them to the 2022 World Cup final, where they lost against Argentina on penalties. After shifting to a back four on the eve of that tournament, Deschamps has continued with the shape and Antoine Griezmann playing in a midfield three.

France’s main attacking threat comes from wide areas, where the focus is on finding Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in one-vs-one situations.

But the wingers also look to combine with advancing full-backs, especially left-sided Theo Hernandez, who regularly occupies a higher position than Kounde at right-back.

To balance Hernandez’s forward surges, Adrien Rabiot maintains a deeper position in midfield alongside Aurelien Tchouameni.

Off the ball, France’s defensive shape moves to a lopsided 4-4-2 with the right winger dropping next to the flattened midfield line. This way, Deschamps frees Mbappe of any defensive responsibilities and keeps him as a threat in transition.

Alternating between a back three and four, Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands continuously change their shape from game to game or within the same match.

Despite that, the differences between the 3-2-4-1 and 4-2-3-1 on the ball are minimal. The Dutch still look to find their No 10s between the lines and combine to create an advantage for their widest players — whether these are wing-backs, a wide forward or an overlapping full-back.

On the other hand, the 4-2-3-1 provides a different profile in the front line; rather than having two wing-backs, it’s an overlapping full-back and a winger. Often, one of the wingers would roam inside the pitch to create space for the advancing full-back.

Out of possession is where the difference between their shapes is most stark, with an additional centre-back making it a back five instead of a back four.

In addition, the Netherlands are able to press higher up the pitch if needed, with their centre-backs accustomed to aggressively marking opponents in advanced positions.

England manager Gareth Southgate and England captain Harry Kane were both critical of the pitch after their 1-1 draw against Denmark in Frankfurt yesterday.

The pitch in Frankfurt was last relaid in November and, after the match, ground staff were filling buckets with loose turf.

And UEFA outlined its plan to address pitch concerns, saying in a statement: “UEFA and its independent pitch consultants have been working closely with the grounds team in Frankfurt in the the build-up of the tournament to guarantee optimal playing conditions and have seen the overall pitch rating improve consistently over the course of the previous season.

“A detailed maintenance plan is in place to address specific issues and further improve quality ahead of the upcoming fixtures at the venue.” Hmm. One to keep an eye on.

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England vs Denmark pitch criticised by Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane

With a capacity of 42,600 for international matches, the RB (Red Bull) Arena - formerly the prosaically literal Zentralstadion (central stadium) - is eastern Germany's biggest stadium.

In Saxony, it has hosted musicians as varied as Tina Turner, Bon Jovi and AC/DC.

The one match it has hosted so far this tournament was Portugal's last-gasp 2-1 win against the Czech Republic.

As usual, The Athletic is running a discussion tab at the top of the page and clickable here.

So get involved! Chat to other subscribers, ask us a question, and deliver your pre-match predictions.

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That's definitely what that Serbia fan in the picture is doing. Probably.

Slovakia vs Ukraine is the first match of the day, and The Athletic are, of course, covering that live.

Click here to follow our live blog for that game, run by Ed Mackey.

You'll be as happy as these guys if you do.

Today, the second round of fixtures gets under way in Group D and E.

Here's how things shake out:

Well, in England's group, Slovenia were seconds away from their first ever European Championship win but Serbia broke their hearts with a 95th-minute Luka Jovic equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

England then played out a drab 1-1 draw against Denmark which raised lots of questions about the future prospects for Gareth Southgate's men in Germany.

In yesterday's final match, a confident, polished Spain side beat Italy 1-0 to make it two wins from two in Group B, labelled the 'Group of Death' before the tournament.

Kylian Mbappe will wear a mask when he returns to play at Euro 2024.

The France captain, 25, fractured his nose in their first game of the tournament. He avoided surgery but following medical assessment it has been determined he must wear protective equipment to safely return to the field.

The Real Madrid striker was pictured in a mask with the French national colours of red, white and blue — the tricolore — and the French Football Federation (FFF) logo on it during training on Thursday.

But he definitely won’t be wearing it today — if he plays at all. Here’s why.

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Why Kylian Mbappe won’t wear France flag mask at Euro 2024

At 11am, the hotel waitress asked a group of Dutch men if they were finished with the coffee machine.

They raised their beers and smiled.

There is no doubting Kylian Mbappe’s star qualities (more on him in a moment) or Tchouameni’s all-round skill set, but the key player for this France side is surely Antoine Griezmann.

The Atletico Madrid forward has played across the front line throughout his international career, scoring 44 goals for France since his debut 10 years ago.

His switch to a No 8 role in 2022 enhanced his importance to this side. From a deeper position, Griezmann can make late runs into the box to attack crosses or find team-mates with accurate passes in the final third.

In addition, Griezmann is aware of his positioning when France are defending in a 4-4-2 mid-block, while having a defensive impact across the pitch with his well-timed sliding tackles.