Mbappé and France into Euro 2024 quarterfinals after Muani's late goal beats Belgium 1-0

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and France advanced to the European Championship quarterfinals after Randal Kolo Muani's deflected shot secured a 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday.

Kolo Muani sent in an effort in the 85th minute that looped up off Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen and over stranded goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

France will play Portugal or Slovenia in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Mbappé, again wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, had five shots but none were on target in a low-quality match between the teams ranked No. 2 (France) and No. 3 (Belgium) who largely canceled each other out.

The French won ugly but, for coach Didier Deschamps, it was “beautiful.”

“We played a tough game against a great team, it was close,” he said. "Although I think we had a lot more possession and a lot more chances. Kolo is Kolo!

“We have to savor it. We mustn’t underestimate this achievement. We’re in the quarterfinals.”

Add a fortunate deflected shot to an own-goal and a penalty — scored by Mbappé — as France's only goals at Euro 2024.

That will do little to stop the growing dissent of France's fans who feel more can come from a talented bunch of players headlined by Mbappé, playing on the day he officially became a Real Madrid player.

Mbappé will be playing in his first ever quarterfinal at the European Championship, with France having lost on a penalty shootout to Switzerland in the last 16 at the last tournament in 2021.

It was also a nice moment for Kolo Muani, whose last big moment at a major tournament came when he bore down on goal in the last seconds of extra time in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina. His shot was saved by Emi Martinez, when a goal would surely have won the title for France.

“I was lucky enough to get my shot on target,” he said of his decisive intervention against Belgium. “It was blocked but it went in. We’re very, very happy and very, very proud.”

Belgium heads home after a fairly miserable Euro 2024, during which the players were jeered loudly by their own fans following a 0-0 draw with Ukraine at the end of the group stage.

Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne was deployed as a deep-lying midfielder in a bid to help control the game, with the Belgians intent on not leaving it open for France's quick attackers like Mbappé.

The tactic would have been a masterstroke had Belgium won.

It didnt, and more criticism is likely heading coach Domenico Tedesco's way.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne, left, and N'Golo Kante of France vie for the ball during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Kylian Mbappe of France, front, clears the ball past Belgium's Yannick Carrasco during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Belgium's head coach Domenico Tedesco gestures during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

France head coach Didier Deschamps celebrates at the end of a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

France's Kylian Mbappe, left, talks to Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Dusseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne and Kylian Mbappe of France embrace at the end of a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. France won 1-0. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku, left, and Belgium's Lois Openda, center, react after a 1-0 loss to France in a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne, center, and his teammates react after a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP)

Randal Kolo Muani of France celebrates his side's first goal during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Belgium's Jan Vertonghen, left, scores an own goal during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Randal Kolo Muani of France takes a shot that was deflected in the net by Belgium's Jan Vertonghen during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Randal Kolo Muani of France, left, and his teammates celebrate their side's first goal during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Antoine Griezmann of France celebrates in the Belgium goal after Randal Kolo Muani of France, shot at goal to cause Belgium's Jan Vertonghen to score an own goal during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

NEW YORK (AP) — The leader of a conservative think tank orchestrating plans for a massive overhaul of the federal government in the event of a Republican presidential win said that the country is in the midst of a “second American Revolution” that will be bloodless “if the left allows it to be.”

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts made the comments Tuesday on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, adding that Republicans are “in the process of taking this country back.”

Democrats are “apoplectic right now” because the right is winning, Roberts told former U.S. Rep. Dave Brat, one of the podcast’s guest hosts as Bannon is serving a four-month prison term. “And so I come full circle on this response and just want to encourage you with some substance that we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

Roberts’ remarks shed light on how a group that promises to have significant influence over a possible second term for former President Donald Trump is thinking about this moment in American politics. The Heritage Foundation is spearheading Project 2025, a sweeping road map for a new GOP administration that includes plans for dismantling aspects of the federal government and ousting thousands of civil servants in favor of Trump loyalists who will carry out a hard-right agenda without complaint.

His call for revolution and vague reference to violence also unnerved some Democrats who interpreted it as threatening.

“This is chilling,” former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson wrote on the social platform X. “Their idea of a second American Revolution is to undo the first one.”

James Singer, a spokesperson for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, pointed to this week’s Fourth of July holiday in an emailed statement.

“248 years ago tomorrow America declared independence from a tyrannical king, and now Donald Trump and his allies want to make him one at our expense,” Singer said, adding that Trump and his allies are ”dreaming of a violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.”

Roberts, whose name Bannon recently floated to The New York Times as a potential chief of staff option for Trump, also said on the podcast that Republicans should be encouraged by the Supreme Court’s recent immunity ruling.

He said Monday’s decision — which gives presidents broad immunity from prosecution — is “vital” to ensure a president won’t have to “second guess, triple guess every decision they’re making in their official capacity.”

In an emailed statement on Wednesday, Roberts reiterated his comments from the podcast, saying Americans “are in the process of carrying out the Second American Revolution to take power back from the elites and despotic bureaucrats.”

“These patriots are committed to peaceful revolution at the ballot box,” he said. “Unfortunately, it's the Left that has a long history of violence, so it's up to them to allow a peaceful transfer of power.”

Roberts pointed to the protests after the killing of George Floyd by police in 2020, some of which erupted into crime, vandalism and violence. Democrats, in turn, have accused their Republican counterparts of violence, using the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in which Trump supporters tried to forcibly overturn his loss to President Joe Biden.

Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said Roberts’ comments about a “second American Revolution” are “a bit terrifying but also elucidating.” The 1,000-page Project 2025 playbook calls for far-reaching changes in government, including rolling back protections for the LGBTQ community and infusing Christianity more deeply into society.

“Roberts, the Heritage Foundation, and its allies in Project 2025 want to reorder American society and fundamentally change it,” Beirich said. “He’s said the quiet part out loud.”

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FILE - Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, speaks at the National Religious Broadcasters convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center Feb. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. Roberts, the leader of a conservative think tank planning for a massive overhaul of the federal government says we are in the midst of “a second American Revolution” that will be bloodless “if the left allows it to be.” (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)