In the end, both sides appeared to think that a draw was not a bad result , given the third fixture still to come. Having said that, it was by no means a bore-draw, with chances flying left and right for both sides, especially in the first half. In the first 45, the Netherlands blitzed France , pressing them high across the pitch and squeezing the life out of their attackers.
However, given the crazy nature of the game , despite Gakpo, Simons and Memphis intertwining like Olympic ice skaters, France had the best chance when Rabiot squared to Griezmann inside the box, only for the pass to be poor and the Atleti player to fall to the floor as he scrambled to squeeze it under Verbruggen.
In the second half, France came out and bossed the ball, controlling the ball and dictating the flow of the game as the Oranje sat back and looked for the counter. But just as happened in the first half, the dominance did not equate to chances in front of goal, and Xavi Simons thought he broke the deadlock with around 20 minutes to go. He would have put his side ahead in their worst moment of the game were it not for Dumfries' offside position as the ball hit the net, and the score remained level.
It's tense in Group D as nothing is sealed in terms of the places of the top three, who have one more game to go before the Round of 16! Weghorst goes down on halfway and the Netherlands look to slowly let the air out of the high pressure situation on the pitch. Rabiot breaks away down the left but his pass towards Coman is terrible and almost runs out the other side of the pitch. Veerman clears after Giroud's header almost finds Griezmann making a late run into the box.
A long ball from deep forces Dumfries this time to run in behind but Saliba, who has been excellent , clears up the danger well. Now it's France's turn to get their passing numbers up. Neither side are pressing heavily anymore and halfway possession is the theme as the clock ticks on.
