Xavi Simons saw a potential winner controversially disallowed as the spoils were shared in a 0-0 draw between the Netherlands and France in Group D at Euro 2024.

A VAR check led to the Dutchman's 69th-minute strike being chalked off for offside, stopping the Oranje from booking their place in the round of 16 with a game to spare.

Antoine Griezmann squandered a host of chances for France, who struggled in front of goal with Kylian Mbappe relegated to the bench due to a broken nose.

Both sides move onto four points, and after Austria's win over Poland earlier on Friday, it is all to play for between the top three on the final matchday, with Poland the first team to be officially eliminated from the tournament. 

The Netherlands came flying out of the blocks, with Jeremie Frimpong forcing a fingertip save from Mike Maignan with less than a minute on the clock.

France soon found their footing though, with Griezmann, wearing the armband in Mbappe's absence, failing to scramble it in from six yards after Adrien Rabiot's lay-off before he drilled another effort just wide of the post.

Maignan was required again when Cody Gakpo cut inside from left before whipping a firm shot across goal, as the goalkeeper got a strong hand to it.

Just before the half-hour mark, Marcus Thuram looked set to break the deadlock after beating the offside trap, but one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he sliced his effort over the crossbar.

After a slow start to the second half, France rallied on the hour mark, with Aurelien Tchouameni flashing a header over before Griezmann saw another glorious opportunity smothered by Bart Verbruggen at his near post.

Against the run of play, Simons thought he had given the Netherlands the lead by picking out the bottom-right corner after latching onto the rebound of Memphis Depay's saved shot, but Denzel Dumfries, in an offside position, was judged to be impeding the goalkeeper and the goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check.

Toothless France struggle without their talisman

All the pre-match talk centred on whether Mbappe would be fit to play after suffering a broken nose against Austria.

The answer: he was not. Instead, he started on the bench, with Marcus Thuram tasked with playing as the main forward in his absence.

Griezmann provided their foremost threat though, appearing in his 11th consecutive game at the Euros for France – Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (18) and Germany's Toni Kroos (13) are the only outfielders on longer such streaks for their nations.

It was a record-equalling appearance for the stand-in captain too, his 32nd at major tournaments, the most for a French outfielder along with Lilian Thuram.

However, the forward had four of France's five first-half shots, finishing with five overall, but failed to lead Les Bleus to a statement victory.

Still, France's wait for a win without Mbappe in their starting lineup goes on, as they have failed to come out on top in any of their last seven such matches (four draws, three defeats).

Netherlands smother Les Bleus

After losing both meetings in qualifying for Euro 2024 by an aggregate score of 6-1, the Netherlands were likely not too happy to come up against Les Bleus once more.

However, in the absence of Mbappe, who has scored six goals in five matches against the Dutch, the Netherlands were able to hold firm.

At the Euros, the Oranje have now avoided defeat in all three of their group-stage meetings with France (2000, 2008, 2024).

Defensively, they stood strong. Despite France having 13 shots, only three were on target as they created 1.4 expected goals (xG).

Virgil van Dijk led by example, making the most clearances (seven) of anybody on the pitch as the Netherlands protected their clean sheet.

Vinicius Jr's dazzling performances at Real Madrid have put the Brazil forward in the conversation to win his first Ballon d'Or and head coach Carlo Ancelotti feels the 23-year-old deserved to win the prestigious award.

Vinicius has netted five times and provided as many assists in the Champions League alone this season to help Madrid book a place in the final, while also scoring 13 goals in LaLiga, which they clinched for a record-extending 36th time last weekend.

The record 14-time European champions will take on German side Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1.

"He's doing a great job," Ancelotti told reporters ahead of Saturday's league trip to relegation-threatened Granada.

"He's still got the Champions League final to come and then he'll be at the Copa America.

"He's very close, and if he has positive results in both competitions, he could well win it [the Ballon d'Or].

"Before I came to coach Madrid, I saw Vinicius on TV and I thought what an incredibly talented player he looked.

"When I arrived here, that much was clear, and he's improved on many things to enhance that talent.

"He's better at evading his markers now and has improved in front of goal as well. He's done so with a spectacular work ethic on a daily basis, he's focused in training and recovers well after matches.

"He's a highly disciplined professional and he deserves everything he's achieved."

But Ancelotti said the rest of his squad have been just as important in a campaign where several key players at Madrid have suffered injuries.

Vinicius moved to the Santiago Bernabeu from Brazil's Flamengo in 2018.

"He's among the best in the world and this is Vinicius' moment because he brings us so much. He's been important in us making the Champions League final and winning LaLiga. But we mustn't forget how the others have contributed," the Italian said.

French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is a doubt for the final after picking up an injury in their semi-final win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

"[Goalkeeper] Thibaut Courtois will play, as will Eder Militao. They both need the game time. Andriy Lunin has to be ready to play as well. That's why I'll have to assess the goalkeeping issue in the coming games," Ancelotti said on team rotation.

"We're not sure if Tchouameni will make it for the final but we'll do all we can to see if he can recover. The rest will rotate, including Antonio Rudiger and Nacho."

Aurelien Tchouameni’s deflected strike was enough to secure Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Mallorca and keep them out on front at the top of LaLiga.

France midfielder Tchouameni broke the deadlock early in the second half as Real extended their unbeaten league run to 25 matches and after arch-rivals Barcelona’s win later on Saturday night, the gap remains eight points.

The two sides meet in El Clasico next Sunday and Barca also remain in top form as they made it six straight wins in all competitions after Joao Felix’s first-half overhead kick secured all three points in Cadiz.

Barcelona were indebted to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen for their win as the German goalkeeper made two crucial saves to deny Cadiz pair Javi Hernandez and Diadie Samassekou.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice to help keep Atletico Madrid on course for the final Champions League spot after a 3-1 home win against Girona, who remain third.

Griezmann’s first-half penalty cancelled out Artem Dovbyk’s early opener for Girona and Angel Correa headed Atletico into the lead in stoppage time before the break.

France forward Griezmann added his 12th league goal of the season early in the second period as Girona slipped to their fifth defeat in eight league matches.

Rayo Vallecano edged six points clear of the relegation zone after being held 0-0 at home by Getafe.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich got their domestic campaign back on track as second-half goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Thomas Muller sealed a 2-0 home win against Cologne.

It was a crucial win for Bayern, who had lost their previous two league matches, as Champions League rivals Stuttgart, Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund all won.

Dani Olmo, Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda were on target for Leipzig in their 3-0 home win against Wolfsburg and Dortmund held on to win 2-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach despite the second-half dismissal of Germany winger Karim Adeyemi.

Marcel Sabitzer gave Dortmund the lead and then converted a penalty before Max Wober hit back for the hosts before the interval.

Adeyemi’s second yellow card left Dortmund with 10 men for most of the second period, but they held on.

Third-placed Stuttgart extended their unbeaten run to nine matches with a 3-0 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Serhou Guirassy, Deniz Undav and Jamie Leweling were all on target in the first half for Stuttgart, who are level on points with Bayern.

Mainz boosted their survival hopes with a 4-1 home win over Hoffenheim, which made it 10 points from their last four matches and lifted them to within a point of Bochum, who drew 1-1 against Heidenheim.

In Serie A, Juventus failed to close the gap on second-placed Milan after they were held 0-0 by derby rivals Torino.

Juve have won only one of their last six domestic league matches and are five points behind Milan and 19 adrift of leaders Inter, with the top two both in action on Sunday.

Fourth-placed Bologna failed to capitalise on Juve’s dropped points as they were also held to a goalless stalemate at home against Monza, while Nicola Sansone’s late goal clinched Lecce a 1-0 home win against Empoli.

In Ligue 1, Reims’ hopes of European football next season were dealt a blow as they lost 3-1 at Strasbourg and Rennes had a setback in their bid for a top-six finish after losing 2-1 at home to Toulouse.

Real Madrid kept themselves in control at the top of LaLiga with a 1-0 win at Mallorca.

In a game of limited clear chances, a deflected effort from Aurelien Tchouameni early in the second half proved the difference for Los Blancos, who built towards a defining period of the campaign next week in the Champions League and hosting Barcelona in El Clasico.

With an eye on next week’s European quarter-final second leg against Manchester City, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti opted for five changes, but England midfielder Jude Bellingham retained his place in the side.

The visitors made a bright start, with Luka Modric sending an early free-kick straight into the wall.

Mallorca, recently beaten in the Copa del Rey final by Athletic Bilbao, were proving difficult to break down.

In the 34th minute, Bellingham sent in a curling effort from the edge of the penalty area but it looped over the goalkeeper and cannoned off the crossbar.

Real finally made their pressure count three minutes after the restart.

Tchouameni picked the ball up around 25 yards out before drilling in a rising drive which took a deflection off a Mallorca defender and spun off up into the top right corner.

Brahim Diaz had a chance to quickly double the lead after running into the Mallorca penalty area but his effort was straight at goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

As the hour mark passed, Mallorca substitute Abdon Prats saw his shot blocked before Real missed the chance to add a second.

Modric cut a pass back to Diaz just outside the six-yard box but the winger’s touch was too strong, which allowed Rajkovic to kick the loose ball clear.

Ancelotti then made a couple of changes, with Diaz and Bellingham given a rest as Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga were sent on.

Real pressed for another goal to kill off the match, with Camavinga playing in Federico Valverde, only for his effort to be hacked off the line by Mallorca defender Matija Nastasic.

Sergi Darder almost scored a fine equaliser when his 25-yard effort, flying towards the top left corner, was palmed away by Real keeper Andriy Lunin at full stretch.

With 10 minutes left, Joselu’s header from a free-kick was saved by Rajkovic.

Mallorca almost snatched a dramatic equaliser with what proved to be the last kick of the game deep into stoppage-time.

Lunin jumped with Vedat Muriqi as he tried to catch a high cross into the Real box but dropped the ball – which the Kosovo striker then stabbed wide of an open goal.

Carlo Ancelotti is confident Real Madrid can cope with their current injury problems ahead of Sunday’s trip to Cadiz.

Madrid are on a run of seven LaLiga matches without defeat and will be out to go top of the table with a win before current leaders Girona play on Monday.

Los Blancos will be without a host of leading players due to injury, with the likes of Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Eder Militao and Aurelien Tchouameni all unavailable.

But boss Ancelotti says there is no cause for concern as he has complete faith in his squad.

He said on the Madrid website: “We’ve had injuries that have hampered us, but the squad is solid.

“We’ve always been competitive despite the absences. We go into the game full of confidence and we hope that the injured players recover soon. We’re convinced that we can handle the problems because we have a squad that gives me confidence.

“Those who have played less have an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to show how good the players are that make up this squad.”

Madrid take on 16th-placed Cadiz before facing Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday and then Granada in the league three days later, meaning Ancelotti’s side face three games in seven days.

Ancelotti criticised the hectic schedule.

He added: “The calendar cannot be sustained and those who draw it up have to look at this.

“Now we have this problem and it will increase because there will be a World Cup and a Champions League with more matches.

“The only solution is to reduce the number of games and this can be done by LaLiga, UEFA and FIFA, but they do the opposite.

“It’s all good if you reduce the number of matches and that will reduce the number of injuries and improve the quality of the spectacle.

“I’ve seen 8-0 games and 14-0 games and I don’t know if that makes much sense.”

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players they must continue to make sacrifices as his side look to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga with victory at Sevilla on Saturday.

Ancelotti has deployed some players in unfamiliar positions with Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni moved back into defence and Rodrygo admitting he was not happy playing at centre forward.

But with a tough schedule ahead including next week’s El Clasico, Ancelotti made no apologies for his positional switches and said he would continue to ask his players to put the interests of his team first.

Ancelotti told a press conference: “It’s important to know where each player wants to play, and sometimes the demands of the team mean that some players have to make sacrifices.

“Camavinga, Tchouameni or Rodrygo have done that. Rodrygo is a complete forward and can play in the centre, as he did at Napoli. My idea is that the team’s demands come first and then the individual’s.”

Ancelotti’s men headed into the international break on the back of four straight wins and the Italian admitted he was concerned that they would be able to regain that momentum as speculation continues to swirl over his future.

“The team’s on a good run and it’s going to be an important week,” said Ancelotti, whose side also face a Champions League trip to Portugal to face Sporting Braga.

“I’m worried about quite a few things this week. The Sevilla game will be very demanding. They’ve changed coach and they have a lot of quality in their squad. It’s going to be a tough match.

“I’m more concerned that we might have forgotten what we did before the international break. We were playing well and I hope we can get back to the same level.”

Saturday’s game, which represents Real’s 3,000th in LaLiga, will also bring Ancelotti face to face with Sergio Ramos, who was integral to Ancelotti’s success during his first spell at the club between 2013 and 2015.

And Ancelotti admitted that he probably would not have got a second crack at the Madrid job had Ramos not scored the famous stoppage-time equaliser in their 2014 Champions League final with city rivals Atletico, which they went on to win.

“I love seeing him and saying hello,” added Ancelotti.

“Obviously, all the players I’ve had I’m very fond of, and I am especially of him. If he hadn’t scored in the final in Lisbon, I probably wouldn’t be here.

“For everything he’s done, I think everyone’s very fond of him, especially me. He’ll have a great game because he’s got real quality.”

Jude Bellingham continued his fairytale start to life at Real Madrid with another starring performance in a 3-0 victory over previously undefeated Girona.

Bellingham set Real on their way with a superb assist for Joselu’s first-half opener and, after Aurelien Tchouameni had made it 2-0, the England midfielder wrapped things up with his seventh goal for the Spanish giants.

Real Madrid’s victory, their seventh in eight LaLiga games, saw them return to the top of the table with Girona dropping from second to third.

The final scoreline was harsh on a Girona side who had recorded six successive wins since their opening-weekend draw at Real Sociedad, but the Catalan underdogs paid the price for not taking their chances.

Madrid have developed an unwelcome habit of conceding early goals this season and Girona could easily have been 2-0 up inside the opening five minutes.

Yangel Herrera should have done better with a header which cleared the crossbar before Viktor Tsygankov struck the outside of the post with a far-post header that left flew across the outstretched hand of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Real were riding their luck but took the lead in the 18th minute following a moment of magic from Bellingham.

The summer signing from Borussia Dortmund curled in an inch-perfect cross with the outside of his right foot which picked out Joselu’s run at the far post and the Spain striker’s finish was too powerful for Paulo Gazzaniga to keep out.

The buoyant visitors were celebrating a second goal barely three minutes later when Tchouameni escaped his marker at a corner to power home a header.

Girona were suddenly looking shaky at the back and Bellingham almost made it 3-0 in the 28th minute after racing onto Vinicius Jr’s pass, with Gazzaniga denying the 20-year-old.

Gazzaniga also produced a fine save to tip over Toni Kroos’ effort on the stroke of half-time as Madrid looked to finish their opponents off before the break.

However, Girona managed to keep the deficit at two goals going into the interval and, like in the first half, they came out all guns blazing at the start of the second and should have pulled a goal back.

The unmarked David Lopez saw his powerful header from a free-kick parried away by Kepa before Herrera headed another good opportunity down into the ground and over the bar.

That was as close as Girona would come to getting back into the game, though, and Real wrapped up the points with Bellingham again centre stage.

The £88.5million man was denied at close range by Gazzaniga just after the hour but there was no stopping the red-hot midfielder in the 71st minute as he made it 3-0 with a clinical finish.

Joselu saw his shot parried back to him by Gazzaniga and, after the ball looped up into the air off the forward, Bellingham pounced to fire a volley into the ground and past the helpless Girona keeper.

The hosts would have breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Bellingham substituted soon after, but the damage has been done, although Real’s win was soured following a late red card for Nacho Fernandez.

The visitors’ captain was initially shown a yellow card for his flying studs-up challenge on Cristian Portu, but that was quickly changed to a red after the referee consulted the pitchside monitor, and a touchline melee involving both teams followed.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram left the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 dream hanging by a thread as France maintained their perfect start to qualification with a regulation 2-0 win in Paris.

The pair struck either side of half-time at the Parc des Princes to claim a fifth successive Group B victory and leave Ireland with just three points from their first four games, a statistic which means Sunday’s clash with the Netherlands in Dublin could all but decide their fate.

Stephen Kenny’s men were organised and dogged, but with Ousmane Dembele tormenting Enda Stevens to such an extent that he was replaced at half-time and Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann delighting a passionate home crowd, were unable to cause the hosts enough problems with the notable exception of a Chiedozie Ogbene header which prompted a fine save from Mike Maignan.

Much had been made in France ahead of the game of Ireland keeper Gavin Bazunu’s propensity to concede from distance, but there was little he could have done to keep out Tchouameni’s sweetly-struck 19th-minute shot, and he was left exposed as substitute Thuram extended the lead after 48 minutes.

While the outcome in Paris was never likely to define their campaign, June’s defeat in Greece left Ireland up against it and a repeat against the Dutch would effectively extinguish all hope.

France set off in determined fashion, Adrien Rabiot thumping a shot into Bazunu’s midriff from Dembele’s pull-back before John Egan had to make a vital block to keep out Olivier Giroud’s strike after Theo Hernandez had out-stripped the cover down the Irish right.

Mbappe might have done better from the resulting corner, scooping a tame attempt over the top after Adam Idah had taken Griezmann’s corner out of Bazunu’s reach, and the Ireland keeper was relieved to see the Atletico Madrid star’s swinging 15th-minute free-kick smuggled away after it reared up at him off the turf having sailed through a crowded penalty area.

However, he was beaten four minutes later when, after Griezmann had headed down for Dembele, his cross was headed away by Nathan Collins only for Mbappe to recycle the loose ball to Tchouameni, who curled a delicious shot across the Southampton keeper and inside the far post from 25 yards.

Giroud departed injured after going to ground under Egan’s 24th-minute challenge and was replaced by Thuram and with Mbappe dropping deep to pick up possession, the visitors found themselves under almost constant pressure, with Ogbene’s occasional, but largely unsupported, forays down the right their only meaningful outlet.

Bazunu fielded a speculative effort from Mbappe comfortably, but was relieved to see an offside flag come to his rescue after the Paris St Germain star had stabbed a 42nd-minute shot between his legs.

Stevens departed at the break to be replaced by James McClean, but his side fell further behind within three minutes of the restart when, after Mbappe had failed to make the most of a Theo Hernandez cross, Thuram span on the lose ball to rifle into the roof of the net.

With little left to lose, the Republic threw caution to the wind and might have reduced the deficit from Ogbene’s header but for Maignan’s brilliance after Idah had beaten the offside trap, and the Luton striker curled a left-foot shot inches over seconds later as the anxious keeper could only look on.

Ireland’s new-found sense of adventure left them vulnerable at the back and Mbappe’s blushes were spared by a late offside flag after he had missed the target in a one-on-one battle with Bazunu, who then did well to parry another Tchouameni piledriver 23 minutes from time.

Dembele rattled the upright from a tight angle with France in cruise control, and only stout defence, a series of less than effective final balls and a bad miss by Thuram spared the visitors further damage.