Arsenal and France centre back delivered a flawless performance as Les Blues dumped the Red Devils out of the EUROs. In a match punctuated with half chances and defensive prowess the French boys came on top courtesy of former Tottenham centreback Jan Vertoghen own goal from Paris Saint German’s striker Randal Kolo Muani tame effort.
The World Cup runners up will face the winners of the clash between Portugal and Slovenia in Hamburg on Friday.
As the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, there was a feeling a goal from anyone could prove to be the winner. Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne both stung the palms of Mike Maignan, while the impressive William Saliba came close to what could have been a first senior goal in France colours, but it was Kolo Muani who came up trumps.
France nearly had the opener in the 48th minute when Belgian defender Wout Faes deflected an attempt from Aurélien Tchouaméni that nearly snuck into the bottom corner, forcing keeper Koen Casteels to make a fantastic diving stop.
The French continued to press early in the half but were unable to break through with the opening goal of the match. Kylian Mbappe nearly put France up in the 53rd, finding his way into the box on a spectacular individual effort but put his attempt just over the bar. Mbappe had another chance in the 78th minute but once again was unable to put his ball on target, sailing it wide of the goal.
France continued to dominate in the second half, holding nearly 60 per cent possession and finished with a 19-5 advantage in shots.
Belgium had their first dangerous chance of the match in the 70th minute but Romelu Lukaku was denied by Mike Maignan to keep the match scoreless. Kevin De Bruyne had another wonderful chance in the 82 minute but Maignan was once again up to the task.
Next up for the winners is a quarter-final against either Portugal or Slovenia. If Roberto Martinez’s team claim victory, it would set up a repeat of the Euro 2016 final when Portugal beat France on hope turf.
