Euro 2024: Kylian Mbappé Scores in Return as France Finishes Second in Group D with 1-1 Draw Against Poland
Kylian Mbappé marked his return to France’s starting lineup by scoring during their 1-1 draw with Poland in the final Group D match of Euro 2024. This result secured France’s place in the knockout stage of the tournament.
This was Mbappé’s first game back since suffering a broken nose in France’s opening 1-0 victory over Austria. Despite being named on the bench, he did not play in the subsequent 0-0 draw against the Netherlands last Friday.
France ended group play with one win and two draws from three games. They dominated possession and created numerous scoring opportunities against Poland. The breakthrough came early in the second half.
In the 55th minute, Ousmane Dembélé was fouled in the penalty box by Poland’s Jakub Kiwior. Mbappé converted the resulting penalty, beating goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski to give France the lead. He celebrated by removing the protective mask he must wear for the rest of the tournament.
Poland equalized in the 79th minute through Robert Lewandowski. His penalty kick was initially saved by goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but Maignan was deemed to have left his line early. Lewandowski converted the retake.
With the draw against Poland and Austria’s 3-2 victory over the Netherlands, Austria topped Group D, while France finished in second place. The Netherlands, with four points, secured one of the four spots allocated to the best third-place teams across the six groups in the tournament.
