France will make their second appearance at the European Championship on Friday against the Netherlands, who are regarded as co-favorites. For Poland, Austria and Ukraine, the motto is "no losing".
Since Monday, much of France's European Championship camp has revolved around the question of whether Kylian Mbappé will be able to play again against the Netherlands. After he suffered a broken nose against Austria, the timetable for his return varied depending on the day and the contact person. By saying on social media that "without risk, there are no victories", the star striker raised hopes that he could play as early as Friday in Leipzig.
Nobody can say exactly how big a risk Mbappé would be taking against the Netherlands. The domestic media have reported in detail on the exact nature of the injury, published doctors' recommendations and described the exact type of mask required. But opinions on the risks and duration of the possible absence differed widely.
Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen "doesn't care if he (Mbappé) is there": "We're not afraid of anyone." However, Oranje's recent record against France, with seven defeats in the last eight games, is already terrifying. Les Bleus won the two games in qualifying for the European Championship in Germany 4:0 and 2:1 - Mbappé scored four of the six goals. After all, the only Dutch victory against France in the last 16 years came in November 2018 in the Nations League with Anthony Taylor as referee. He will also referee the clash on Friday evening (21:00).
In the second match of the group, the two losers of the first round, Austria and Poland, will face each other at 18:00. At 3 p.m., Ukraine must get back on track in Group E after their brutal 3-0 defeat to Romania - against Slovakia, who surprised Belgium with a 1-0 win.
The possible line-ups:
Slovakia - Ukraine
Friday, 15.00 hrs. - Düsseldorf. - Ref Oliver (ENG).
Slovakia: 1 Dubravka; 2 Pekarik, 3 Vavro, 14 Skriniar, 16 Hancko; 19 Kucka, 22 Lobotka, 8 Duda; 26 Schranz, 9 Bozenik, 17 Haraslin.
Ukraine: 23 Lunin; 2 Konoplya, 13 Sabarni, 22 Matviyenko, 17 Sinchenko; 18 Brashko, 19 Shaparenko; 15 Tsygankov, 14 Sudakov, 10 Mudryk; 11 Dovbyk.
Poland - Austria
Friday, 18.00 hrs. - Berlin. - Referee Meler (TUR).
Poland: 1 Szczesny; 5 Bednarek, 3 Dawidowicz, 14 Kiwior; 19 Frankowski, 8 Moder, 10 Zielinski, 13 Romanczuk, 21 Zalewski; 9 Lewandowski, 7 Swiderski.
Austria: 13 Pentz; 5 Posch, 4 Danso, 3 Trauner, 16 Mwene; 6 Seiwald, 9 Sabitzer; 20 Laimer, 19 Baumgartner, 23 Wimmer; 11 Gregoritsch.
Netherlands - France
Friday, 21.00 hrs. - Leipzig. - SR Taylor (ENG).
Netherlands: 1 Verbruggen; 22 Dumfries, 6 De Vrij, 4 Van Dijk, 5 Aké; 24 Schouten, 14 Reijnders, 16 Veerman; 7 Simons, 10 Depay, 11 Gakpo.
France: 16 Maignan; 5 Koundé, 4 Upamecano, 17 Saliba, 22 Theo Hernandez; 7 Griezmann, 13 Kanté, 14 Rabiot; 11 Dembélé, 9 Giroud, 15 Thuram.
