Euro 2024 day 12: Austria cause a stir and England win group
Austria stunned Netherlands 3-2 to top Group D, leaving France having to settle for second spot after a draw with Poland.
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England finished top of Group C despite another underwhelming display at Euro 2024.
Austria stunned Netherlands 3-2 to top Group D, leaving France having to settle for second spot after a draw with Poland.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the action from day 12.
England changes for last 16?
England boss Gareth Southgate made one change against Slovenia, bringing in Conor Gallagher for Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the midfielder lasted only 45 minutes.
Kobbie Mainoo was introduced and made an impact, as did fellow substitutes Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon late on, leaving Southgate with decisions to make ahead of the last-16 tie.
Manchester United midfielder Mainoo told ITV: “Me and Cole (Palmer) are ready for whenever we are called upon, we train hard and when we get our chance we try and impress so we can help the team as much as possible.”
Austria the dark horses?
Austria are tipped to be the dark horses of the tournament after finishing above France and Netherlands.
Despite a 1-0 defeat to France, Ralf Rangnick’s side have beaten Poland and the Dutch.
Rangnick said: “I’ve already said months ago I don’t think it’s probable for us to win the Euros.
“But if someone asks me to rule it out, I had the same answer. It’s not very likely but we are not thinking about that, the lads want to go as far as possible but we have to take it step by step.”
France fail to top group
France were favourites to top the group but could only manage a 1-1 draw with Poland despite Kylian Mbappe returning.
Mbappe scored from the spot against the Poles, leaving the French with no goal scored from open play during the group stage.
Failure to top the group means France are on the side of the draw which also includes Spain, Portugal and Germany.
Boss Didier Deschamps said: “I am not disappointed, not at all. Through the game we wanted to get that top spot, we did what we needed to do. We had a keeper who saved a lot of shots, we gave it everything we had to the very end. There’s a new competition starting it’s as simple as that.”
Belgium ready for action
Belgium head coach Domenico Tedesco insists his side will “play to win” as they look to qualify for the last 16 against Ukraine on Wednesday.
All four sides in Group E have three points which leaves it wide open heading into the final game.
The meeting between Belgium and Ukraine will be the first-ever between the two sides when they clash in Stuttgart.
Tedesco told a press conference: “It’s not difficult or tough mentally. I can’t tell you the recipe for drawing a game: we only play to win. We won’t worry about permutations, we want to win.”
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Who’s up next?
Slovakia v Romania – 5pm, BBC TwoUkraine v Belgium – 5pm, BBC OneGeorgia v Portugal – 8pm, ITV1Czech Republic v Turkey – 8pm, ITV4
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