Stalemate at Leipzig

Didier Deschamps can dare to surface a team without the talisman Kylian Mbappé because of the talents available. For which - he didn't risk playing the injured star in one of the high-voltage matches of the group stage. 

Both the teams came to Leipzig against the backdrop of scratchy victories and one expected them to reignite the classic of #Euro 2000 where the Dutch won by 3-2 in Group D - these two sides are pitted in Group D in this year's Euro as well. 

But the match ended 0-0 in normal time like the Anfield quarterfinal in 1996 where the French won via penalty shootouts. 

Still, the match was lively with the French dominating the proceedings. 

Opportunities went begging and Antoine Griezmann was culpable and they were almost punished as proceedings entered their final 20 minutes.

Jeremie Frimpong reached away from Theo Hernandez, and beat Mike Maignan inside the opening minute - hinted at a classic as the mobile Dutch front line caused particular headaches in the first half, Xavi Simons sparked at the venue where he fared well all season for RB Leipzig and Cody Gakpo making Maignan save superbly. 

Griezmann drew an acrobatic stop from Bart Verbruggen and then, fed by an Adrien Rabiot who should surely have shot after clever work from Marcus Thuram, stumbled in front of goal when looking to convert. 

He also moved wide from inside the box and then watched as Thuram, slipped into the space by a smart ball down the right from Jules Kounde, raced towards goal but blazed off target.

Aurélien Tchouameni rose high but headed wide before Griezmann fluffed arguably the best chance of all. 

Teded up by N'Golo Kante, who was again the top performer throughout the night, he could not beat Verbruggen from six yards and France was left to sweat because of VAR. 

The flag went up quickly after Xavi Simons, rifling in from 14 yards after Maignan had denied Memphis Depay, briefly wheeled away in celebration. 

Denzel Dumfries, well offside, had been standing directly to Maignan’s left as the ball flashed past him on that side. 

The assumption was that he had impeded the keeper’s ability to dive and VAR was set to work to decide. 

It was upheld after an almost three-minute wait that culminated in Anthony Taylor calling Griezmann and Virgil van Dijk across to run them through the rationale.

VAR has been the centre of debate in this event, as usual,l and last night's performance wasn't appreciated. For such decisions, you must use the tempo wisely. 

The compactness of the midfield courtesy of Kante gives France the edge. Kante has been the stabilizing factor and his determination allows the whole team to grow in that 4-2-3-1 formation. 

But a compact midfield and solid defence may not help if you can't score goals. 

Till, now, the finishing of the French remains unconvincing. 

For the Dutch - the backline needs to be more solid. The Austrians of Rangnick will test them. 

Note: Excerpts from the The Guardian

Thank You 

Faisal Caesar