Key events
5 min: “Do you think if France do get a nervy 2-1 win, their fans will have a collective meltdown like England’s did?” asks Robert Shillcock. “A winning start is really all that matters. In fact, maybe not even that — Argentina got beat by Saudi Arabia in their first game of the 2022 World Cup!”
No, but I think Austria are a substantially better side than England’s opponents Serbia, so any win is a good result here for France. And I think England fans should be alarmed by their second-half performance, and Southgate’s defensive tactics, which so famously got us into trouble in the final against Italy three years ago.
A man said Gareth southgate would put his phone on low power mode when the batteries on 99% 😂
— EXPRESSIONS OOZING (@ExpressionsOOZ) June 16, 2024
3 min: Laimer fouls Mbappé for the first foul of the game, and Griezmann whips in a cross, headed away by Austria’s Danso.
2 min: The teams feel each other out. Mbappé is playing through the middle for France, with Thuram on the left, but expect them to swap throughout the match.
Peeeeeeep! And we’re off in Düsseldorf.
“Disappointed Jack Grealish fans might find some solace in Austria fielding the like-monikered Grillitsch today,” emails Peter Oh. “Florian may not have Jack’s calf game or twinkle-toe his way into the opponent’s box, but he does offer sturdy and smart defensive midfield work and occasionally does surprising things like score from his own half as he did for Hoffenheim against Cologne this past season.”
The teams are out, the anthems sung. I can report that La Marseillaise is still a certified banger.
Ten minutes until kick-off. Predictions and any other thoughts welcome to michael.butler@theguardian.com or @michaelbutler18. I’m going to go with a nervy win for France, 2-1.
Should France win this tournament, Didier Deschamps will become the first man to win both the Euros and the World Cup as both a player and a coach. What a ridiculous career.
The atmosphere is building in Düsseldorf.
The match report of Belgium 0-1 Slovakia has landed.
Remarkably, this is William Saliba’s first competitive start for France. Didier Deschamps openly questioned the Arsenal centre-back in March: “He is having a good season, but he also does things that I don’t like so much. For France, he has limited game time, but when he plays, that hasn’t necessarily gone well. The hierarchy doesn’t favour him at the moment, but he is here. With certain players, I make sure to persevere, because it can be confidence or little blockages that can shift.”
Deschamps has persevered and it’s Saliba that has got the nod over Liverpool’s Konaté.
This was the early result today, in case you are catching up: Romania 3-0 Ukraine.
Let’s unpack those teams. Austria should line up in a 4-2-3-1, while France will adopt their normal 4-3-3, with Rabiot and Kante a more defensively-minded pair beside Antoine Griezmann, who rivals Kylian Mbappé as the most important player in Deschamps’ side.
Rabiot has evidently recovered from a knock, while Tchouameni is not 100% fit, although named on the substitutes bench. Interesting that it is Saudi-based Kanté that has been picked to replace Tchouameni for his first start in two years, beating Camavinga and Zaire-Emery to a starting berth. There was some debate as to whether Marcus Thuram could lose his place to Olivier Giroud, but it is the Internazionale man that edges out the veteran.
The teams!
Austria: Pentz, Posch, Danso, Wober, Mwene, Seiwald, Grillitsch, Laimer, Sabitzer, Baumgartner, Gregoritsch.
Subs: Lindner, Trauner, Arnautovic, Prass, Hedl, Querfeld, Lienhart, Kainz, Schmid, Daniliuc, Seidl, Wimmer, Weimann, Entrup, Grull.
France: Maignan, Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez, Kante, Rabiot, Dembele, Griezmann, Thuram, Mbappe.
Subs: Samba, Pavard, Mendy, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Giroud, Muani, Zaire Emery, Fofana, Coman, Clauss, Areola, Konate, Barcola.
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano (Spain)
David Alaba might be sidelines with injury but he is with the Austria squad this tournament as a ‘non-playing captain’. Here he is looking rather focused tonight.
Full-time: Belgium 0-1 Slovakia.
A remarkable result! The first big shock of the tournament.
Two goals disallowed for Belgium and Romelu Lukaku, one for offside and one for handball in the build-up. The second looked a little harsh, but correct within the current rules.
What a year this has been for former Stoke City players. With Joselu scored two late goals against Bayern to send Real Madrid to the Champions League final, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting also featuring in the semi-final for the German side. Now at the age of 35, Marko Arnautovic has perhaps a final chance to make his mark for Austria on the international stage. The Internazionale forward is the most-capped and second highest scoring player in the history of the national team but is expected to start on the bench, currently behind Freiberg’s Michael Gregoritsch in the pecking order.
Just 15 minutes to go between Belgium and Slovakia, and it is the latter who are leading 1-0! Join Rob Smyth here for that game’s closing stages.
Preamble
What a game this is, perhaps the most exciting on paper of the tournament so far. France, who have played in all but one major tournament final since 2016, against a resurgent and intriguing Austria side, led by their Ralf Rangnick, their maverick manager who turned down Bayern Munich’s advances to stay in charge of Das Team for this tournament.
This article does a much better job of explaining how Austria have reached Group D, but the short answer is with an excellent qualifying campaign in which they finished just a point behind Belgium, winning six of their eight games.
Rangnick has imposed a flowing style – quick transitions, pressing and counterpressing – that has won over the Austrian players and public and even without their injured talisman David Alaba and midfield dynamo Xaver Schlager, they are a genuine force and threat to the French. Get any sort of result here, and Austria will fancy themselves to get out of this group, which also includes Poland and the Netherlands.
This is how things stand.
France are France. Despite an outrageous roster of talent filled with both youth and experience and with surely the best international manager in the world, Didier Deschamps, we are never quite sure what we are going to get. Recent results, such as a 2-0 defeat to Germany and a 0-0 draw with Canada, have meant they are seen as a team lacking fluency while off the pitch, much of the build-up to this game has centred around the players’ political opinions regarding Emmanuel Macron’s shock announcement a week ago to call a snap parliamentary election. Yet, it would not be a surprise
So, plenty to digest. This should be a cracker.
Kick-off: 8pm BST, or 9pm in Düsseldorf.
