Austria tops group D with France in second place
26 June 2024
Austria achieved a resounding surprise by topping Group D after defeating the Netherlands 3-2 in Berlin, finishing ahead of second-placed France, which fell into a 1-1 draw with Poland in Dortmund, on Tuesday in the third and final stage of the group stage of the 2024 European Football Cup held in Germany.
The Netherlands finished third with 4 points, ensuring its qualification to the final 16 with France (5 points), while Austria took the lead by securing six points.
Austria vs Netherlands
In the first match at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Austria took the lead against Netherlands after an own goal was scored by Donnell Malen early in the match, the Netherlands equalized at the beginning of the second half thanks to Cody Gakpo.
Austria regained the advantage with a goal by Romano Schmid (59), and the Orange team equalized again thanks to Memphis Depay (75), but Marcel Sabitzer took advantage of the defensive fragility of coach Ronald Koeman's men to score the winning goal and take the lead (80).
France vs Poland
In the second match, Kylian Mbappé opened his scoring tally in the European Cup with a goal from a penalty kick (56), while Robert Lewandowski equalized in the same way (79).
With his first goal in the European Cup in his sixth match, Mbappe raised his number of goals in major international tournaments (the World Cup and the European Cup) to 13 goals, one goal behind the “Roosters’ all-time top scorer in the two tournaments, Michel Platini (14).