The man in the black mask came onto the pitch at the Red Bull Arena for the pre-match warm-up and went through all his routines. He carefully adjusted the mask a few times, getting used to how it felt, trying to make sure it best protected his broken nose.
He warmed up on the touchline in the second half as the match between France and Netherlands remained at a stalemate and saw Olivier Giroud and Kingsley Coman introduced as attacking substitutes in the second half.
He watched France, and especially Antoine Griezmann, who had been called on to attack in his place, miss a series of golden opportunities and yet the French manager, Didier Deschamps, decided he did not want to put him in danger.
And so the match between two giants ended goalless and unfulfilled. It ended with that nagging feeling that it had been waiting for something that never arrived. We had to wait for Kylian Mbappé.
This match was a match that showed us what France is without Mbappé: a beautiful side, full of quality, grace and verve, but a side that lacks edge. Any team would miss the best player in the world and France is no different.
In the end they were even a bit lucky when the Netherlands had a goal from Xavi Simons disallowed by Anthony Taylor, because Denzel Dumfries was in an offside position and interfered with goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
It simply had to be an English referee at the center of the first real VAR controversy of this European Championship.
The reality is that France had not won any of the previous six games they had played without Mbappe in the starting line-up, and they never seemed confident they would win this one.
The bad news for the other top contenders to win this Euros is that he will likely be back for France’s final group match against Poland and for the remainder of the tournament.
Mbappe, who seriously broke his nose when his face collided with Austrian defender Kevin Danso’s shoulder during France’s win over Austria on Monday, had recovered sufficiently to be among the substitutes.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance after the match in Dusseldorf and there were some fears he would miss the rest of the tournament, but he has recovered well and took part in the warm-up.
Griezmann was pushed into the attack to take his place and Aurelien Tchouameni moved into Griezmann’s place in midfield. Mbappé or not, the match got off to an electric, frenetic start.
Only a minute had passed when Jeremy Frimpong drove clear and fired a shot through Theo Hernandez’s legs. The ball crept into the far post until Mike Maignan got to it with his fingertips and pushed it wide.
France hit back a few minutes later. They orchestrated a break themselves and when the ball was played back to their captain Antoine Griezmann, his rasping, rising drive was crossed by Bart Verbruggen.
The match barely had a chance to catch its breath. France looked certain to score when a brilliant backheel into the penalty area left Adrien Rabiot with only Verbruggen to beat. Rabiot aimed the ball at Griezmann for a tap-in, but Griezmann got his feet tangled and fell over. He tried to send it back to Rabiot but could not send it. French players held their heads in their hands.
Griezmann shot narrowly wide and at the other end Cody Gakpo cut in from the left and curled a low shot towards the far corner. He sneaked into the post before Maignan dived with his full length to turn him away.
Marcus Thuram timed his run brilliantly to beat the offside and sprint clear, but then spoiled his good work by firing over from an angle from ten yards out and Griezmann’s free-kick from a dangerous area on the edge of the penalty area was blocked through the jumping Dutch wall.
Griezmann won a corner shortly afterwards and as he waited to take it, the Holland fans in the seats behind him threw several plastic cups full of beer at him. Twice he had to pick up the cups and throw them to the sideline before he could take the corner. It was an ugly moment.
The second half started more exhaustingly, but that pattern was broken after ten minutes when Ousmane Dembele, who had already used his pace to embarrass his markers, escaped down the right and crossed to the back post. The ball fell to Rabiot six yards out, but he cut it high and wide.
Tchouameni headed just too high from a corner but France, with N’Golo Kante orchestrating and rushing and harassing in the heart of midfield, began to turn up the heat.
Halfway through half-time, France missed another golden opportunity to take the lead. Once again Griezmann was to blame. France executed a complicated move in the Holland area and Kante played the ball to Griezmann three yards out.
Griezmann, normally such a polished and technically confident player, let the ball squirm away from him with his first touch and then had to stretch to squeeze his shot past Verbruggen. There was no power and the goalkeeper pushed the ball wide.
The Netherlands thought they had scored when Memphis Depay’s shot was saved by Maignan and Xavi Simons scored the rebound with a hard blow. But Denzel Dumfries was standing next to Maignan when the ball hit the back of the net and a VAR check followed to determine if it was ruled offside.
Dumfries was not in Maignan’s sight but there was a suggestion his proximity had stopped the goalkeeper from diving. The goal was disallowed. The Dutch were furious with referee Anthony Taylor. Provide a new fusillade of objects thrown onto the field by the Dutch fans.
Some wryly pointed out that the longest VAR wait of the tournament so far involved English officials.
It was the last real incident in a match that was always waiting for the man in the mask.
