By Fernando Kallas
DORTMUND, Germany (Reuters) -A Kylian Mbappe penalty was cancelled out by Robert Lewandowski’s spot kick as already-eliminated Poland held France to a 1-1 draw in Dortmund on Tuesday, meaning the French finish second in Group D.
Mbappe broke the deadlock in the 56th minute with his first European Championship goal – and the first scored by a French player at Euro 2024 – when he calmly slotted home a penalty given for Jakub Kiwior’s clumsy challenge on Ousmane Dembele.
But Dayot Upamecano brought down Polish substitute Karol Swiderksi, which allowed Lewandowski to level from the spot in the 79th minute – after his first effort was saved by Mike Maignan, who was adjudged to have advanced off his line too early.
The draw means France finish second in Group D behind Austria and will face whoever comes second in Group E, where Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine are all on three points.
It is the first time France have failed to finish top of their group at a major tournament in 12 years under manager Didier Deschamps.
It was another uninspired performance by France, who lacked imagination from top to bottom. They dominated possession but were denied by Poland’s excellent goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski who made a string of decent saves to deny Mbappe, Theo Hernandez, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola´s close-range efforts.
But after Poland found the equalizer, France had to endure a late flurry by the animated Polish who were roared on by their fans who woke up after Lewandowski’s goal to create a raucous atmosphere at Dortmund BVB Stadion.
Deschamps still seems to be figuring out how to play his forwards after three games, opting to start talisman Antoine Griezmann on the bench against Poland and his role is still unclear.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallás and Sam Tobin; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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