Euro 2024 social round-up: Mbappe´s broken nose, Neville´s concern and the stars are out

Euro 2024 is truly up and running, with five of the six groups having already gone through their first matchdays.

On Monday, favourties France clicked into gear with a 1-0 win over Austria.

That came after Romania thrashed Ukraine 3-0 and Belgium were the first major side to suffer a shock defeat, going down 1-0 to Slovenia.

But what about the action on social media? We’ve picked out some of the best posts…

The stars are out

There’s plenty of big names taking in all the action in Germany, and there were some superstars in attendance to watch on as France faced Austria in Dusseldorf.

Among them were Portuguese great Luis Figo, Germany icon Philipp Lahm, and Spain legend – and current Bayer Leverkusen coach – Xabi Alonso.

Lahm posted on Instagram: “#AUTFRA in best company! Amazing how fans from Europe and all over the world have turned Germany into a big festival within just a few days.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Philipp Lahm (@philipplahm)

Expected broken bones (xBB)?

Poor old Kylian Mbappe. He just can’t catch a break at the Euros.

He did help create France’s winner against Austria, but subsequently missed a great chance (one that had an expected goals value of 0.6) in the second half, and is yet to score at the European Championships.

To top it off, he then sustained what appeared to be a broken nose when his face clashed with Kevin Danso’s shoulder.

Mbappe also received a booking before he was eventually substituted. Opta Analyst saw the funny side, at least.

4 shots
0 goals
1 broken nose pic.twitter.com/vowD70P5cP

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 17, 2024

Evergreen

Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Didier Deschamps elected to select N’Golo Kante in France’s squad.

At 33 and having struggled with injuries in recent seasons, Kante now plies his trade out in Saudi Arabia.

Yet he was simply magnificent in the heart of France’s midfield against Austria. He attempted three tackles, won two of them and made two interceptions in an all-action display.

Everywhere. #EURO2024 | #AUTFRA pic.twitter.com/1N0S2nkJvw

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 17, 2024

Key skills

Fan parks in Germany are equipped with CPR training centres, so supporters can learn how to potentially save a life if required.

And it’s not just the fans who are able to take in a lesson.

As UEFA’s official X account showed, the players are getting involved too. The Romanian team gave it a go.

How to save a life!

Romania’s players have taken our Get Trained, Save Lives resuscitation training – you can too at https://t.co/VSjVDpHPth!#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/LLMKYPn19V

— UEFA (@UEFA) June 17, 2024

Midfield an issue for England?

Gary Neville is out in Germany as a pundit for ITV Sport, though the former England defender was back on Sky Sports to share his thoughts on the Three Lions’ display against Serbia on Sunday.

And Neville fears for the balance of Gareth Southgate’s midfield.

“The midfield is the major concern and the fluidity of the game that comes through there is one thing we need to try and work on in the group stage because when we play against a good team, we’ll have to have it right,” said Neville.

“There are some small alarm bells around balance and having a good group of players that are very talented but are we as good a team?”

Gary Neville discusses why he believes England’s midfield is a concern for Gareth Southgate’s side after the opening game against Serbia pic.twitter.com/58fpmtzjTD

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 17, 2024

Quickfire tour

Ever wondered what it’s like behind the scenes at a team training camp at a major tournament?

Well, Scotland’s social media team allowed fans to have a quick peep behind the curtain by sharing a 45-second video of their Alpine training base.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a town in Bavaria, and it’s as picturesque as you can imagine.

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A post shared by Scotland National Team (@scotlandnationalteam)

Where’s Wally?

Can you pick out one character in a sea of red and white?

The Austria fans were out in uniform for their clash with France!

#EURO2024 | #AUTFRA pic.twitter.com/V9Kv9kOiE5

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 17, 2024

Would you like fries with that?

It was far from a dream start for Belgium, as they slumped to a 1-0 loss to Slovakia.

Romelu Lukaku was twice thwarted by VAR, and squandered numerous big chances.

But Lukaku can at least take solace in the fact he is not the Belgium fan who elected to turn up to the match wearing a hat resembling a portion of french fries… That really is having a chip on your shoulder!

#EURO2024 | #BELSVK pic.twitter.com/h7jUEOxdy0

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 17, 2024