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Kante rolls back the years in vintage display

France have an abundance of young midfield talent in Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelin Tchouameni and Warren Zaire-Emery, yet still picked N’Golo Kante.

Many saw that call as a surprise given the 33-year-old now plays for Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, but it took just 90 minutes of France’s opening 1-0 win at Euro 2024 against Austria to see why Didier Deschamps got it right, once again.

Kante rolled back the years with a vintage display that looked exhausting from the outside. No France player won more tackles than the midfielder, with only William Saliba making more ball recoveries and winning more possessions in the defensive and middle thirds of the pitch.

The most important intervention came five minutes from time when Patrick Wimmer burst through after picking Saliba’s pocket. But covering the ground again was Kante.

The France midfielder also put his team-mates through on goal three times against Austria. His greatest skill of being unbelievably ubiquitous at both ends of the pitch has not faded.

“It was like a younger version of himself,” said Roy Keane of Kante’s display. That younger version won the World Cup with France six years ago. He may just be crucial in a bid to add the European Championships to that collection.
Sam Blitz

Rangnick’s pressing offers Austria hope

Belgium are the only one of the fancied teams to suffer a setback so far in this European Championship but it has been encouraging to see so few sides setting up in a deep block and hoping to hold on. Austria came to impose their game on France.

It was easy to see why they had lost only one of their previous 16 matches coming into their Group D opener, a team revitalised under former Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick. They certainly looked well coached by the German.

Austria made more tackles in the first half against France than any other team in this tournament has made in a full match so far. It summed up their front-foot approach. Only a lack of individual quality prevented them from causing an upset.

The pressing challenged France throughout and it was a more entertaining match as a result. Kylian Mbappe had space to work with but the only difference between the sides was Max Wober’s own goal. Christoph Baumgartner really should have scored.

With Poland and the Netherlands to come, Austria should not be discouraged. To an extent, their plan work. They are well capable of getting out of Group D if they are able to maintain that intensity in the next two games. This tournament will be better for it.
Adam Bate

Lunin’s lapse in concentration proves costly

One of the big decisions facing Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the Champions League final earlier this month was whether to stick with Andriy Lunin, the Ukraine goalkeeper, ahead of Thibaut Courtois.

At least, it was a topic of conversation in the media. Not for Ancelotti, who kept his cards close to his chest on the eve of Real Madrid’s encounter with Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

As it transpired, Courtois was entrusted with the gloves and the Belgian showed just why he is the Italian’s first choice when fit. Unfortunately for Lunin, his deficiencies were exposed by a rampant Romania in his first appearance since losing his place in the Madrid side.

When faced with an intense press, the 25-year-old was sloppy with the ball at his feet as Nicolae Stanciu emphatically punished him with a sweeping finish into the top corner.

His second mistake was even less excusable as he allowed Razvan Marin’s speculative shot to flash underneath his body.

Serhiy Rebrov’s side paid dearly for their inability to convert their early possession into any real chances, as Romania soaked up the pressure and then struck on the counter after dispossessing Ukraine deep in their own half.

Ukraine were quarter-finalists at the last European Championships despite losing two of their three group games. All hope is not lost, as Rebrov said afterwards. But he must make a decision already on whether to stick or twist with Lunin.
Ben Grounds

Dragusin leads Romania to famous win

In an admittedly quiet January, Radu Dragusin’s £26.7m move to Tottenham was the largest of the Premier League’s transfer window.

The centre-back was limited to just four league starts following his arrival. But as Romania earned their first win at a major tournament for 24 years, Spurs fans saw why their club invested so heavily in the Genoa defender.

Dragusin was outstanding in Munich. Every time Ukraine ventured into dangerous areas, they found the dominant 22-year-old in their way.

He made 10 clearances – twice as many as any other player – constantly positioning himself to quell the threat of Mykhailo Mudryk, Artem Dovbyk and Georgiy Sudakov.

It wasn’t just Dragusin – the entire Romania team bought into the game plan, sacrificing possession and protecting their area with admirable determination, before punishing Ukraine’s errors to score their goals.

Tougher tests surely await – Belgium also lurk in Group E – but those opponents may not find it easy to break Romania down with star player Dragusin in this form.
Joe Shread

Will Belgium ever live up to the hype?

Perhaps Belgium are cursed. Perhaps unlucky. Or maybe this ‘golden generation’ simply isn’t as good as the hype – or third-place FIFA ranking – suggests. Whatever the intricacy or issue, they don’t seem to perform as predicted on the big stage.

Romelu Lukaku was wasteful, Kevin de Bruyne off-colour, Leandro Trossard ineffective. All over the pitch, in fact, Domenico Tedesco’s side underwhelmed, and that’s despite creating four ‘big chances’ and an xG of 1.91.

Game by game, the shine is flaking off what remains of Belgium’s reputation as one of Europe’s stellar sides. This is a team of individuals, far from a comprehensive unit of tournament winners.

And yet, there was something unjust about their opening game defeat. For all the obvious shortcomings, Lukaku did have the ball in the back of the net twice. The first was ruled offside, and so little argument can be made.

The second decision, however, jarred far more. This is the type of officiating that has drawn suspicion and skeptics in the Premier League, deemed by many as ‘re-refereeing’ – there is justification for both sides.

Lois Openda did handle the ball, but does that mean it’s handball? The rule is subjective, of course, but many believe this brand of VAR intervention to be a stain on the game. Jury’s out.

Either way, Belgium must improve if they are to avoid a repeat of Euro 2022, crashing out at the competition’s group stage.
Laura Hunter

Slovakia veterans help deliver tournament’s first shock

All that was missing from a gripping start to Euro 2024 was a result to upset the apple cart; a result to get the underdogs dreaming. It came in game nine.

Sure, Belgium were denied an equaliser not once but twice after VAR reviews, but they lacked vigour in attack throughout the match and, to an extent, only had themselves to blame.

It was a momentous result for Slovakia as their first win in four attempts against Belgium gives them a solid chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.

But also because they achieved it having become only the second nation in European Championship history to name three players in their starting line-up who were aged 35 or older.

France did it at Euro 2008 with Gregory Coupet, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram – and now Slovakia have matched it with Peter Pekarik (37), Juraj Kucka (37) and Martin Dubravka (35), who all played the entirety in Frankfurt.

Pekarik had a solid game at right-back and Juraj Kucka offered a decent enough threat in the middle of the park, but the pick of the bunch was Newcastle stopper Dubravka, whose five saves prevented 1.03 goals being scored by the Red Devils.

Albeit with a slice of luck, Francesco Calzona’s Falcons have passed what was thought to be the toughest test they would face in the group stages and their old guard have strengthened the case for age being nothing but a number.
Dan Long