France and Netherlands produced the first scoreless draw of EURO 2024 in a tightly-contested game in Leipzig, to leave both sides looking nervously over their shoulders - but it wasn't a game without controversy and debate after Xavi Simons' late strike was ruled out after a lengthy VAR display.

A highly-anticipated game almost sprung into life within the first minute when a long, raking ball down the right-hand side saw Jeremie Frimpong beat Theo Hernandez for pace; though the Bayer Leverkusen man saw his shot cutely tipped around the post by Mike Maignan in what was a huge scare for Les Bleus.

It was France's turn to go next; Antoine Griezmann fired over from distance, but he should have scored with a golden opportunity when Adrien Rabiot broke through the Netherlands defence, only to square it to Griezmann, who was not expecting the ball to come to him. Cody Gakpo troubled Maignan a couple of times, and Marcus Thuram fired over as he bore down on goal; but neither side could break the deadlock and we went into the break without a goal.

The second half ebbed and flowed, with a lot of chances going either way. Memphis Depay's free kick slammed into the wall, before France ramped up their creativity. Marcus Thuram dragged a shot wide, Aurelien Tchouameni nodded over, and Griezmann could've scored again but his first touch after breaching the backline was poor and Bart Verbruggen spread himself superbly to halt the attacker.

And that almost came back to bite them. The Netherlands started a pass-laden attack, and with Depay holding the ball up, the striker fired a shot goalwards. It was saved by Maignan, but Xavi Simons struck home the rebound - though Denzel Dumfries was adjudged to have been obstructing Maignan's path on the rebound.

Match Highlights

France Player Ratings

Mike Maignan - 8/10

Superb stop to thwart Frimpong inside a minute after the pacy wideman got away from Theo Hernandez down the right hand side, and then another when he turned Cody Gakpo's shot wide of the post. He's certainly within the conversation of being the world's best goalkeeper at present.

Jules Kounde - 7/10

A strong defensive display from the Barcelona man. He was up against Gakpo and Depay on his right-hand side and with the majority of Netherlands attacks coming down his side, he dealt with them well. Some shots were conceded, but he dealt with their offerings with ease.

Dayot Upamecano - 6/10

Didn't have too much to do at the back, but the Bayern man was imposing at times against a quick front three. Hasn't had the best of seasons but he's beginning to find his feet for the national team.

Willliam Saliba - 6/10

Calm at the back when playing against a chaotic Dutch front line. He's known for his flawless, composed defending for Arsenal and that was the same here in Leipzig.

Theo Hernandez - 5/10

Has struggled with his injury so far this tournament and still looks slightly rusty. We all know what the Milan star can do when he's at the top of his game and he'll surely have chances to do so in the latter stages of the tournament. Hernandez is lacking that burst of pace at present and it showed against Frimpong, who is not short of speed himself.

Aurelien Tchouameni - 5/10

The Netherlands broke on the counter a lot more freely than France would have liked and the buck for that stops with Tchouameni. He didn't have the authority Deschamps would have wanted and with his shot going out for a throw-in on the hour mark, it summed up his night after nodding over from a corner.

Adrien Rabiot - 5/10

The Manchester United-linked midfielder was so wasteful in front of goal in the first 15 minutes. Being sent through on goal on the left-flank, he turned around and gave the ball to Griezmann, who had his shot saved. But history repeated itself just minutes later when he inexplicably squared the ball to an unexpecting Griezmann, despite having the goal at his mercy. Not his finest performance by any means.

N'Golo Kante - 7/10

Another performance from the Chelsea icon where he rolled back the years. Letting him depart for Saudi Arabia could be very costly for the Blues, and he's arguably been France's best player over the first two games of the Euros campaign. He even brought a sense of attacking drive tonight and that is rare for him.

Antoine Griezmann - 5/10

Griezmann never looked to be totally confident with the ball at his feet. His glorious spurned chance when Rabiot squared the ball wasn't his fault, but some lacklustre finishing and free-kicks didn't go his way, least of all his chance that Verbruggen stopped. He was supposed to be the star man with Mbappe out of the picture, but couldn't quite galvanise the squad.

Marcus Thuram - 6/10

It was always going to be a hard task replacing Kylian Mbappe in the starting lineup - but it would be unfair to say that Thuram didn't do so. He wasn't overly involved in the game in a shooting sense, but he showed more than a few good flashes in terms of hold-up play, and he had a glorious chance to open the scoring when he beat the offside trap - but he lashed over wildly.

Ousmane Dembele - 5/10

Dembele was anonymous in the first half. A lot of France's play came down the right-hand side, but that wasn't to say Dembele was involved, with central midfielders making runs from deep to support Thuram and Griezmann, with only the former having fewer touches than him of any France player in the first half. He's known for his dazzling displays but the spark simply wasn't there tonight, despite ramping it up in the second period.

SUB - Olivier Giroud - 5/10

Came on to a rapturous applause but the former Chelsea and Arsenal man didn't have the time or chances to fashion anything late on.

SUB - Kingsley Coman - 4/10

Some fresh legs were needed and Coman provided that but again, it was too little too late.

Netherlands Player Ratings

Bart Verbruggen - 7/10

It's easy to forget that the Brighton stopper is just 21 years of age. He's extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet and did enough to thwart Griezmann on a number of occasions, none more important than his lunge to halt the Atletico Madrid man just after the hour. If he can continue his development in the Premier League, he could become the Netherlands' first-choice keeper for a long time to come.

Denzel Dumfries - 6/10

Dumfries was trusted again at right-back with Frimpong on the wing, and the two worked well in tandem. There was little threat down the French left with Mbappe on the bench, and he stood solid. Could perhaps have tested more by going a bit more adventurous.

Stefan De Vrij - 6/10

Had very little to do. France were always going to struggle a little bit more without Mbappe and the centre-back's job was made easier by his absence from the starting XI.

Virgil van Dijk - 6/10

Imperious in the air when France went long to utilise Marcus Thuram's height and physicality. Didn't let anything phase him defensively and gave his side that reassurance going forward. Did have a couple of hairy moments but they were dealt with well.

Nathan Ake - 6/10

Looked to struggle with Dembele's pace at times but the Manchester City star held his own and didn't look to be in too much trouble at any point.

Tijjani Reijnders - 6/10

Reijnders is a dynamic midfielder who can do anything in the engine room and the AC Milan star didn't look out of place in a star-studded midfield battle. Used the space well in a game where Netherlands were expected to lose the possession battle and was unlucky not to have done more with his chances.

Xavi Simons - 7/10

The youngster was a handful for the French all evening. Small in his frame, the Paris Saint-Germain wonderkid was twisting and turning, aiming to squeeze the ball through to the frontline - but if there is one criticism, it's that there was little to show for his efforts when it came to end product - even though some may feel he was robbed with his offside goal.

Jerdy Schouten - 6/10

The PSV man was the deeper-lying midfielder of the three and he kept play ticking well enough. Booked for a fifty-fifty tackle on the half hour mark but in general, he composed himself against one of the best midfields in the world.

Jeremie Frimpong - 7/10

Incredible turn of pace to get away from Hernandez after just 60 seconds but perhaps just ran a bit wide to get a clean strike. It was a superb decision from Ronald Koeman to change his lineup to include the former Manchester City man, with the Netherlands looking much more dangerous with him in the team.

Cody Gakpo - 7/10

He was the Netherlands' livewire tonight. Depay somewhat flattered to deceive, and so it was Gakpo that took up the crux of the chances. Cutting inside on his deadly right, he made Maignan work hard to tip a goalbound effort behind and it certainly made the French defence know he was in the mood. Didn't get what he wanted but it was an entertaining display.

Memphis Depay - 6/10

Started out slow and sloppy but started to grew into the game with some jinking runs and drives at the heart of the France team. He's not quite lived up to his potential after a stunning burst onto the scene in his youth, but he's in the Netherlands team for a reason. Did extremely well for the offside goal by Simons to force the shot - but question marks remain over his work-rate.

SUB - Georginio Wijnaldum - 5/10

Arrived for fresh legs after the disallowed goal and he kept the midfield compact.

SUB - Joey Veerman - 6/10

Superb work to block a potential chance near the end that could have resulted in heartbreak.

SUB - Lutsharel Geertruida - 5/10

Brought on to shore up the defence and he did exactly that in the little time he was on the pitch.

SUB - Wout Weghorst - 5/10

Has a knack for goals, but like Giroud, that couldn't be counted upon with both teams chasing a late winner.

Man of the Match

Mike Maignan

It's not often that a France goalkeeper will win the man of the match award, and it was a tight call between himself and his opposite number - but some incredible stops in the first-half saw Maignan stand out.

He was called into action inside a minute to turn Frimpong's effort around the post, which after seeing the replays, became apparent that it was a much more important stop than at first viewing.

Another superb stop from Gakpo in the first half kept France level, and he did well to keep Memphis Depay's strike out moments before the disallowed goal. He's one of the best in the world and having a reliable goalkeeper will always get you to the final stages of a tournament. He will be a huge part of France's success over the next three weeks.