While the Netherlands and France played to a scoreless draw, Xavi Simons had a goal disallowed due to video assistant referee controversy and Memphis Depay flopped.

In a disappointing heavyweight match on Friday, France and the Netherlands played to a scoreless draw, marking the first of Euro 2024.

Even though it was one of the most anticipated group stage matches, this one ended up being really dull. French coach Laurent Blanc benched Kylian Mbappe after the forward broke his nose, but his team still dominated possession and created few scoring opportunities. The Dutch were set up for counterattacks and managed just a few brief forward forays.

Antoine Griezmann had multiple close-range opportunities for Didier Deschamps’ team, but he couldn’t convert any of them. On the other hand, Simons appeared to have scored a goal for Ronald Koeman’s side, but a long VAR review ruled Denzel Dumfries’ interference with goalkeeper Mike Maignan as the culprit.

Both teams were unable to gain a decisive advantage, and they nearly advanced to the round of 16.

Get the lowdown on the Red Bull Arena stars representing the Netherlands…Bart Verbruggen, Goalkeeper and Defender (7/10):

Antoine Griezmann attempted a piledriver, but I was quick on the ball and made a spectacular stop to deny him just after the hour.

Denzel Dumfries—a score of 5 out of 10:

Not only did he not contribute anything offensively or defensively in the first half, but he was also caught offside twice. Speculation has it that the right back is interested in joining a Premier League club, but his performance thus far has failed to pique their interest.

Six points for Stefan de Vrij:

Fought off striker Marcus Thuram in a physical altercation, holding his own until Virgil van Dijk came to his rescue twice.

Virgil van Dijk scored a7/10:

Before Thuram’s clever backheel nearly resulted to a goal, he was able to evade everything that came his way early on. The introduction of the cunning veteran Olivier Giroud presented him with a new challenge.

Jonathan Ake (7/10):

Had a good look at right back Jules Kounde when he advanced, but Ousmane Dembele’s pace kept him alert.Center fieldScore: 5/10 for Jerdy Schouten:

Of the Dutch midfielders, he is the most useful. Could use some luck to start the following game after failing to disrupt play.

Seven out of ten stars for Tijjani Reijnders:

Contributed significantly to the first half defense by covering key areas and relieving pressure with driving runs from deep inside his own half.

The score for Xavi Simons is 7 out of 10. •

I had some success creating turnovers in France’s half, but his early finishing was lacking. But he became better as the game progressed and was unfortunate to see a score disallowed.Jeremie Frimpоng (6/10) аssаult:

His breаkneck speed pоsed а threаt tо Frаnce’s defense, but he wаs unаble tо cаpitаlize оn enоugh scоring chаnces.

Five stars for Memphis Depay:

Was careless with the ball and his distribution early on, and he didn’t get better as the game went on. What a lethargic performance from the ex-Barcelona player.

Gakpo, Cody (7/10):

Perhaps he was underutilized that night, but the Liverpool star looked dangerous when he cut in from the left and ran at defenders. Returns to assume his defensive responsibilities as well.