Mike Maignan as savior, William Saliba impeccable, Antoine Griezmann in difficulty… The Blues’ ratings against the Red Devils

The French team qualified for the quarter-finals of the Euro after its narrow victory against Belgium on Monday, once again demonstrating great rigor in defense.

In pain. Facing a Belgium team that, like them, had not had a very good start to the Euro, the French team won by the smallest of margins (1-0), Monday July 1st, without completely convincing. The defense of the Blues was put to the test and responded, but it was more complicated offensively.

Mike Maignan: 8/10

The French goalkeeper saved his team several times to keep them in the game. He made a reflex save on a vicious free kick (24th), relaxed well to push away a shot from Romelu Lukaku (71st), then another from Kevin De Bruyne (83rd). Also valuable in his footwork and in his decision-making, such as when he came out at the feet of Loïs Openda, far from his goal (5th).

Jules Koundé: 7/10

The right-back locked down his side well against Jérémy Doku. And if his first crosses were bad, he applied himself to the following ones, notably towards Marcus Thuram (33rd and 51st), then towards Mbappé (56th) who missed his recovery. A good match from the Barcelona player, named man of the match by UEFA.

William Saliba: 7.5/10

The Arsenal defender is gaining confidence as the games go on and this was evident against Belgium. Against Romelu Lukaku, he was the strongest in the duels, such as in the 11th, 47th and 84th minutes. He remained focused from the start to the end of the match and even tried his luck with a shot after eliminating Jérémy Doku (74th).

Dayot Upamecano: 7/10

The Munich player provided good defensive cover, without making any mistakes and distinguished himself in the restarts. He also made two decisive interventions in the area to repel the danger at the end of the match. The hinge he forms with William Saliba is one of the satisfactions of the start of the tournament.

Theo Hernandez: 7/10

The left-back brought his grit defensively, with several saving interventions. For example, he came back to Yannick Carrasco to prevent him from shooting (15th), blocked a shot from the same Belgian (37th) and made a magnificent tackle once again on Carrasco (60th). A little less prominent offensively.

N’Golo Kante: 5/10

The midfielder did not shine in this match. He sometimes played too easily by losing balls and did not offer many solutions offensively. He was still the passer for Randal Kolo Muani on the only goal of the game.

Aurélien Tchouameni: 6.5/10

Valuable in the restart, he grew in power during the game. The Real Madrid midfielder made interesting crosses towards Koundé to open the game and took things in hand to shoot from afar, without success, with attempts in the 40th, 45th, 48th and 69th minutes. Cautioned in the quarter of an hour of play for protesting by claiming a corner that should have been awarded to the Blues.

Adrien Rabiot: 4/10

The midfielder no longer has the brilliance he had in the first match, when he lined up with Antoine Griezmann and N’Golo Kanté, but without Aurélien Tchouameni. He sometimes slows down the game. His shot from distance in the 20th minute goes well over the goal and he is cautioned in the 25th minute for a late intervention on Jérémy Doku. A yellow card synonymous with a suspension for the quarter-final.

Antoine Griezmann: 3.5/10

Lined up as a right winger, the Madrilenian was truly ghostly. His shot in the 10th minute, too soft, was easily caught. He was cautioned for a late intervention on Jérémy Doku (23rd) and was not inspired in his passes, like when he tried to find Marcus Thuram first time, but in a way that was too complicated (43rd).

Marcus Thuram: 4/10

Starting up front, Marcus Thuram was rarely found by his teammates (only 16 balls touched), and when he was, his header attempts (in the 18th, 34th and 51st minutes) did not find the target. He is replaced by Randal Kolo Muani at the hour mark. The latter caused Jan Vertonghen’s own goal and participated in defensive tasks.

Kylian Mbappé: 6/10

The captain of the Blues tried, but did not succeed. He sent a cross shot into the clouds (46th), eliminated but shot over (54th) and missed a recovery on a perfect cross from Jules Koundé (56th). He was still often in the right shots, but made too little defensive effort, even when the ball was in his zone.