France started the match as favourites, but the first real frisson came at the other end. Belgium had fallen into the habit of waiting for counters, but they almost took the lead from a dead ball. Kevin De Bruyne fired a free-kick into the France box that deflected off everyone and forced Mike Maignan, who saw the ball late, to make a save with his legs.

This prompted a positive spell from the Red Devils, who were nevertheless fortunate to end the first half level, with Marcus Thuram heading narrowly wide from a Jules Kounde cross before Aurelien Tchoumeni headed wide. . Tchoumeni also had the first strike after the interval, his shot from the edge of the area being deflected by Wout Fes and headed away by Koen Castells.

France was applying pressure, but their efforts were mostly directionless and off target. Thuram, Tchoumeni, and Kylian Mbappe all had efforts and William Saliba fired a shot wide after Romelu Lukaku narrowly missed the lead for Belgium. The Roma forward tested Maignan with a fierce strike, and the France keeper was also equal to De Bruyne's drive.

The Red Devils looked like they might make France pay for their spurned chances - until the breakthrough finally came. Substitute Randal Kolo Muani was the instigator, moving into the area and beating Castells with a shot that took a crucial deflection off Jan Vertonghen. Presumably, Belgium have a tough shot to make, but France have long threatened to attack and can now look forward to the quarter-finals.