By Jude Summerfield
An own goal from Maximilian Wober was enough to get France off to a winning start at Euro 2024 on Monday night as they saw off a determined Austria outfit in Dusseldorf.
Kylian Mbappe's cross was diverted his own net by the Leeds United defender, who spent the past season on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach, but Didier Deschamps' side were forced to work hard for all three points in a fast-paced and fascinating Group D clash.
The 1-0 victory sees France go second behind the Netherlands, who they play on Friday, on goal difference.
How the game unfolded
Tournament heavyweights like Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and England all claimed statement wins to kick off their Euro 2024 campaigns and France strutted onto the Dusseldorf Arena turf with the aim of laying down their own marker.
Austria, led by former Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick, had designs on upsetting the odds as they plotted a win that would blow Group D wide open.
The opening exchanges were fast-paced as the underdogs attempted to unsettle their more illustrious opponents with some fierce pressing, though Deschamps' outfit often had the tools to escape and move up the pitch. Unsurprisingly, it was Les Bleus captain Mbappe who came closest to opening the scoring.
The new Real Madrid star raced onto Adrien Rabiot's neat pass and tried to pierce Patrick Pentz's goal at the near post, but the Brondby shot-stopper stood firm to save well and then gathered the resulting corner.
Austria began to feel their way into proceedings with Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer impressing in tight spaces, though the contest lacked many clear-cut chances before France went ahead somewhat fortuitously.
The 2018 World Cup winners might have fallen behind had Austria capitalised on some clever build-up play, but after Marcel Sabitzer nodded down Michael Gregoritsch's cross, Baumgartner couldn't produce a clean connection and his strike drifted wide off the feet of Mike Maignan.
They were made to pay for it and it was Mbappe who helped break the deadlock, driving his way to the byline before his cross was diverted into his own net by Maximilian Wober, whose positioning was errant as he nodded an unintentional header into the far corner.
The second half began with Antoine Griezmann sporting a crimson dash across his forehead after being shoved into the advertising boards at the side of the pitch before Mbappe passed up a golden opportunity, racing clear but curling just wide of Pentz's post.
Austria tried gamely to get back into the contest and wanted a penalty when Sabitzer collapsed under two French challenges, but no spot-kick was ever likely to be awarded.
The dangerous Theo Hernandez whipped a devilish low cross across the six-yard box before Jules Kounde's strike towards goal was blocked as Les Bleus pushed for a second in the wake of a triple change from Rangnick.
Marcus Thuram forced Pentz into a decent stop as Austria began to tire and France asserted themselves more dominantly, but a second goal which would have brought comfort for Deschamps didn't arrive before Mbappe suffered a head cut after colliding with Kevin Danso.
The forward was eventually substituted off - not before re-entering the pitch to pick up a yellow card - but Austria's hopes were galvanised by nine minutes of stoppage time.
France withstood the enthusiastic late pressure, however, to join the other major nations in making a winning start to Euro 2024.
Austria player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Patrick Pentz - 6/10 \- Firm stop denied Mbappe but could do little about Wober's inadvertent own goal.
RB: Stefan Posch - 6/10 \- Threw his weight around, grabbing possession on occasion and leaving his opposite number on the floor at times.
CB: Kevin Danso - 6/10 \- Was often on hand to clear danger, though it was as a latch-ditch measure at times.
CB: Maximilian Wober - 3/10 \- Wasn't in the right position to deal with Mbappe's cross, instead heading it into his own net. Ended up being brought off early in the second half.
LB: Philipp Mwene - 5/10 \- Picked up a booking for one too many fouls on the flank.
CM: Nicolas Seiwald - 7/10 \- Caught the eye while implementing Austria's press, consistently snapping into challenges and winning possession.
CM: Florian Grillitsch - 6/10 \- Showed good work rate and made sure life was tough for France's midfield before his withdrawal.
RW: Konrad Laimer - 6/10 \- Showed the industry that earned him admirers during Bayern Munich's Champions League run but the moment of telling quality was just missing.
AM: Christoph Baumgartner - 6/10 \- Had Austria's largest chance but couldn't muster a clean connection. Did well to nick the ball here and there.
LW: Marcel Sabitzer - 5/10 \- Couldn't influence proceedings on the ball as much as he would have liked, but did make sure he contributed to Austria's well-organised press.
ST: Michael Gregoritsch - 5/10 \- Had no chances to get a shot away and came off without managing to make a dent in France's defence.
Substitutes
Patrick Wimmer (59' for Grillitsch) - 5/10
Marko Arnautovic (59' for Gregoritsch) - 5/10
Gernot Trauner (59' for Wober) - 6/10
Alexander Prass (88' for Mwene) - N/A
Romano Schmid (90' for Laimer) - N/A
Subs not used: Heinz Lindner (GK), Niklas Hedl (GK), Flavius Daniliuc, Leopold Querfeld, Philipp Lienhart, Florian Kainz, Matthias Seidl, Andreas Weimann, Marco Grull, Maximilian Entrup.
Manager
Ralf Rangnick - 7/10 \- Austria did everything they could to make France's life difficult. Rangnick's press was well implemented but the lack of quality in attack cost them in the end.
France player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Mike Maignan - 6/10 \- Not overly tested despite Austria's brightness but made saves when necessary.
RB: Jules Kounde - 7/10 \- Got forward here and there and might have netted with a strike that couldn't find its way through a crowd of Austrian defenders.
CB: Dayot Upamecano - 7/10 \- Showed some good recovery pace to snuff out Austria's attempted counter attackers.
CB: William Saliba - 7/10 \- Got caught under a cross which Baumgartner almost punished him for, but otherwise was proactive and shut down Austria's central threats.
LB: Theo Hernandez - 8/10 \- Put in a number of dangerous low crosses which just needed a diving teammate on the end of them.
CM: N'Golo Kante - 7/10 \- Patrolled midfield with his renowned relentlessness, though some of his forward surges lacked a composed end product.
CM: Adrien Rabiot - 7/10 \- Showed composure in the middle of the park and picked out a couple of nice passes.
RW: Ousmane Dembele - 6/10 \- Didn't show his quality in one-v-one scenarios and came off in the 71st minute.
AM: Antoine Griezmann - 6/10 \- Not one of his most influential outings but may have connected with a Hernandez cross for a goal if it wasn't agonisingly out of reach.
LW: Marcus Thuram - 6/10 \- Surprisingly played out wide which saw Mbappe employed through the middle.
ST: Kylian Mbappe - 6/10 \- Got France into the lead with his cross that led to the own goal and should have made it 2-0 before his uncharacteristic miss. Suffered a blow to the head which left him bloodied and got booked for re-entering the pitch when he shouldn't have.
Substitutes
Randal Kolo Muani (71' for Dembele) - 5/10
Eduardo Camavinga (71' for Rabiot) - 6/10
Olivier Giroud (90' for Mbappe) - N/A
Youssouf Fofana (90' for Griezmann) - N/A
Subs not used: Alphonse Areola (GK), Brice Samba (GK), Benjamin Pavard, Ferland Mendy, Ibrahima Konate, Jonathan Clauss, Aurelien Tchouameni, Warren Zaire-Emery, Bradley Barcola, Kingsley Coman.
Manager
Didier Deschamps - 6/10 \- Probably didn't do as much as he could have to nullify Austria's dogged determination out of possession. There's plenty of work for France to do.
Player of the match: Theo Hernandez (France)
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Austria 0-1 France: Player ratings as own goal hands Les Bleus winning Euro 2024 start.
