France have confirmed their place in the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament after securing their sixth consecutive victory in the qualifying rounds. Les Bleus defeated the Netherlands 2-1, thanks to a double from Kylian Mbappe. With this win, France has secured a top-two finish in Group B and is unlikely to be caught by Greece, who are currently in second place, with a six-point gap between them. France has been in excellent form, with six wins in seven games, making them the team to beat in the tournament.
In the match against the Netherlands, Mbappe ended his goal drought and scored both goals for France. The first goal came in the opening 10 minutes, assisted by Jonathan Clauss, while the second goal was a beautiful finish from the edge of the box, assisted by Adrien Rabiot. Mbappe’s six goals in the qualifiers have been crucial for France, and he almost added to his tally with a late effort that hit the crossbar. The only downside for France was conceding a goal in the 84th minute, ending their streak of five consecutive clean sheets.
Despite this minor setback, France held on to their lead and secured the victory and the three points needed to qualify for Euro 2024. After disappointments in previous tournaments, including a loss in the 2016 final and a round of 16 exit in the 2020 tournament, France is determined to make amends and perform well in Germany.
Joining France in qualifying for Euro 2024 is the 2016 champions, Portugal. They secured their seventh victory in Group J with a 3-2 win against Slovakia, thanks to two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal, who have outscored France in the qualifiers but conceded slightly more goals, cannot drop out of the top two in their group. Luxembourg is currently in third place but would need a significant points haul to catch up with Portugal and Slovakia.
In another qualifying match, Belgium secured their place in the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Austria. The win creates a 10-point gap between Belgium and Sweden, who will struggle to overcome the deficit with only three games remaining. Romelu Lukaku’s goal in the 58th minute sealed the victory for Belgium.
