France Expected to Top Euro 2024 Group But Watch Out for Austria

Kylian Mbappe remains the key to France's success although there are concerns that he has been distracted by his move to Real Madrid. JOHN THYS / AFP/File
Kylian Mbappe remains the key to France's success although there are concerns that he has been distracted by his move to Real Madrid. JOHN THYS / AFP/File
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France Expected to Top Euro 2024 Group But Watch Out for Austria

Kylian Mbappe remains the key to France's success although there are concerns that he has been distracted by his move to Real Madrid. JOHN THYS / AFP/File
Kylian Mbappe remains the key to France's success although there are concerns that he has been distracted by his move to Real Madrid. JOHN THYS / AFP/File

France are inevitably the favorites to top Group D at Euro 2024 but suggestions they will cruise through the first round might be wide of the mark given the presence of the Netherlands and a resurgent Austria in their section.
The French are leading contenders to win the trophy but there are legitimate questions to be asked about the current condition of the 2022 World Cup runners-up.
A home friendly defeat by Germany in March and a slightly fortuitous win over Chile a few days later suggested that Didier Deschamps' team need not necessarily be feared.
Kylian Mbappe's form is a concern to some extent, given he was not a regular for Paris Saint-Germain in the final months of the season and his departure from the club, and move to Real Madrid, have clearly been a distraction.
Not that Deschamps necessarily agrees. "You don't think he's in form? He just scored 44 goals in a season," he said of Mbappe last week.
There are also questions to be answered about the form and fitness of Deschamps' defensive options -- not least Dayot Upamecano -- while France are hoping key midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni fully recovers in time from the foot injury which ruled him out of the Champions League final.
The format of a 24-team Euros -- the four best third-placed teams as well as the top two in each group advance to the last 16 -- makes it hard to imagine France failing to reach the knockout phase.
Any serious problems for Les Bleus are unlikely to arrive until later, and they are eager to make up for what happened at the last two Euros played under Deschamps -- they lost the 2016 final to Portugal on home soil and went out on penalties to Switzerland in the last 16 in 2021.
The Netherlands should be the next strongest side in the group, but defeats home and away to France in qualifying indicate a gap between those teams.
The Dutch were quarter-finalists at the last World Cup, since when Ronald Koeman has returned for a second spell in charge as the successor to Louis van Gaal.
They will forever be associated with the iconic side that won the 1988 Euros, starring Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, but they have not won a knockout tie at the finals of the tournament since 2004.
Koeman does boast a core of players of the highest quality, including Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong, Jeremie Frimpong, and 21-year-old midfielder Xavi Simons.
De Jong must shake off an ankle injury, however, and the Oranje could do with getting off to a good start against Poland in Hamburg on June 16.
Lewandowski leads Poland
Poland came through the play-offs to qualify by beating Wales on penalties, having notably lost to Albania and Moldova in their group.
Their qualifying campaign was rescued by Michal Probierz after he was promoted from his role as Under-21 coach to succeed sacked former Portugal boss Fernando Santos.
Inevitably Poland still rely heavily on Robert Lewandowski, who is 35 now and is surely going to his last major tournament.
There are plenty of reliable performers in their squad, including goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and midfielder Piotr Zielinski, but they look the weakest link in the group.
In contrast, Austria approach the tournament in fine fettle, even if star player David Alaba has not recovered from a ruptured cruciate knee ligament.
Revitalized under the management of Ralf Rangnick, Austria finished just behind Belgium in their qualifying group and have scored some remarkable recent friendly wins, beating Germany 2-0 and Turkey 6-1.
Those performances led to an approach by Bayern Munich for Rangnick, which he turned down.
"Our full concentration is on the European Championship," Rangnick said. "We will do everything we can to get as far as possible."
Austria, whose squad features a large contingent based in the German Bundesliga, kick off against France in Duesseldorf on June 17.



FIFA Opts Not to Suspend Israel but Will Investigate Palestinian Claims of Discrimination

(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters  on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
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FIFA Opts Not to Suspend Israel but Will Investigate Palestinian Claims of Discrimination

(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters  on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

FIFA stopped short of suspending the Israeli soccer federation on Thursday, but asked for a disciplinary investigation of possible discrimination alleged by Palestinian soccer officials.
A senior FIFA panel overseeing governance will separately investigate “the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine,” soccer’s governing body said after a meeting of its ruling Council.
The Palestinian soccer federation has consistently asked FIFA for more than a decade to take action against the Israeli soccer body for incorporating teams from West Bank settlements in its leagues.
The compromise decisions came more than four months after Palestinian officials had urged FIFA to suspend Israel’s membership at a meeting in May.
The request to FIFA's congress in May also cited “international law violations" in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict and directed the soccer body to its statutory commitments on human rights and against discrimination.
FIFA delayed making a decision in May until after a legal review scheduled for July, then pushed back the issue two more times until the meeting Thursday.
“The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
The latest process follows a pattern — under Infantino and his predecessor Sepp Blatter — of Palestinian requests for FIFA to uphold its legal statutes and the question then being steered toward ad hoc panels and other committees.
FIFA gave no timetable Thursday for the investigations it has not requested.