France stumbles into quarters as attacking stars fail to fire

DUSSELDORF, Germany — A deflected 85th-minute shot by Randal Kolo Muani, listed as a Jan Vertonghen own goal, gave France a nervy 1-0 win over a disappointing Belgium on Monday, sending it into the quarterfinals, despite another poor show by its misfiring forwards.

France did most of the running in a cagey game, but was profligate with its finishing, until a nice combination of passes, finished off by N'Golo Kante, finally created space for substitute Kolo Muani to bundle a mishit shot in, off the leg of Vertonghen, wrong-footing Belgium's goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

France will now meet Portugal in the quarterfinals in Hamburg on Friday.