Austria v France player ratings: Kante 9; Mbappe 7; Danso 8; Sabitzer 7

(From L to R) France's defender #17 William Saliba, France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappe, France's midfielder #13 N'Golo Kante, France's defender #04 Dayot Upamecano, France's midfielder #14 Adrien Rabiot and France's forward #11 Ousmane Dembele celebrate the first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group D football match between Austria and France at the Duesseldorf Arena in Duesseldorf on June 17, 2024. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

France edged a hard-fought battle with Austria thanks to a Max Wober own goal to get their Euro 2024 campaign off to a winning start on Monday.

On an eventful night in Dusseldorf, France's captain Kylian Mbappe broke his nose and picked up a bizarre yellow card as Al Ittihad's N'Golo Kante made a stunning return to international football after an absence of almost two years.

France secured victory when Mbappe made a brilliant run into the Austrian box before firing in a cross that Wober headed into his own net after 38 minutes.

The result puts France level on three points with the Netherlands, who defeated Poland 2-1 in Hamburg on Sunday, at the top of Group D.

Austria have been impressive under German manager Ralf Rangnick and came into the tournament on a seven-game unbeaten run.

They made life tough for the tournament favourites throughout.

Mbappe had a night of mixed fortunes as, aside from the injury, he also missed a clear-cut chance to put his side two goals up before an accidental clash with defender Kevin Danso left him with a suspected broken nose.

He went off with his shirt covered blood but was then shown a yellow card as he returned to the pitch and sat down in an effort to force the referee into allowing France to make their substitutions.

One player who had no difficulties on the night was man-of-the-match Kante. The 33-year-old, who plays for Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, was recalled by French coach Didier Deschamps after a 21-month absence.

The 2018 World Cup winner rolled back the years as he produced a magnificent display, winning tackles, hitting pinpoint passes and making surging runs forward. At the death he sprinted back to snuff out a dangerous break by Patrick Wimmer.

Fellow France defender Jules Kounde said after the match: "Nothing has changed, it's still the same N'Golo. His recovery of the ball was monstrous."

Kante said: "It's a good start. It's what we wanted: to start the tournament with a win."

France manager Deschamps said: "It's great to start with a win. It's a good habit and we need to keep it up. Relief but also happiness with what the players did, even if we had chances to go two goals ahead."

On Mbappe's injury, he said: "His nose isn't good at all ... it's obviously the bad point of this match. It's very worrying for us."

Austria manager Rangnick said: "We created chances. Of course, France also created chances. Patrick Penz, our goalkeeper, did a great job. I have no reproaches towards my team. They didn't always make the right decision, but let's not forget who the opponents were."

France's next game is against the Netherlands on Friday, while Austria take on Poland.