Agency Report –
Captain Kylian Mbappé scored and set up the other as France beat hosts Germany 2-0 on Sunday in the Nations League match for third place.
Man of the Match Mbappé netted a 50th goal in his 90th cap shortly before half-time, and then fed Michael Olise for the second in the 84th.
Victory was sweet for Les Bleus after Thursday’s 5-4 semi-final defeat against Spain, while Germany ended the home event with two losses, having fallen 2-1 against Portugal on Wednesday.
Florian Wirtz hit the post, the hosts had a penalty call and a goal nullified upon review, but were also wasteful, especially early on.
France finish on a high
Much-changed France were a constant threat on the counter after the break, with Marcus Thuram hitting the outside post, and German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen keeping his side in the game on several occasions.
“We are happy to beat a team like Germany,” Mbappé told German broadcasters RTL.
“They had many opportunities but didn’t score. We then scored and after the break it was more 50-50 and we had many chances.”
Germany try to see the positives
The first back-to-back defeats since November 2023 highlighted that Germany lack the squad depth of other top teams and, despite all progress in 2024, have a lot of work ahead to become a major threat again at big events.
“We showed in the first half that we wanted to show a reaction,” Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said.
“We should have been 3-0 up after six minutes. We conceded shortly before half-time and lost patience after the break. We made too many mistakes in possession.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann said: “We must score against such top teams but the approach was good. In the second half we wanted to force things which leads to counter attacks. We showed that we can create against top teams despite missing several players.”
Germany miss early lead in frantic start
Both coaches had said they would use the match as a casting for World Cup qualifying in autumn, with France’s Didier Deschamps making eight changes from the semi-final line-up, and Nagelsmann four.
Germany started with purpose as Nick Woltemade and Karim Adeyemi were denied by goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Pascal Gross aimed wide, and Niclas Füllkrug had a goal-bound shot headed away by Lucas Digne.
France finally settled in, and Cherki forced a first save from Ter Stegen, who then had to dive to his left to keep Loic Badé’s header out on the ensuing corner kick.
France lead after German penalty rescinded
Germany thought they could take the lead after half an hour when referee Ivan Kružliak awarded a penalty after Adeyemi went down against Maignan. But the decision was rescinded after a long review and Adeyemi booked for diving instead.
Wirtz hit the left post in the 36th, and Maignan denied Woltemade once more, but it was France who took the lead on the stroke of half-time.
A long ball from Aurelien Tchouameni sailed over Kimmich to Mbappé, who beat the Germany captain and fired into the far right corner although Ter Stegen got his fingertips on the ball.
Germany were punished for their wastefulness, and Mbappé almost struck again after the restart, hitting the side-netting.
More German VAR agony before France seal it
The ball was finally in the French net in the 53rd from substitute Deniz Undav, after Füllkrug had disposessed Rabiot. But Kružliak ruled after a long look at the monitor that Füllkrug had fouled the defender.
France were however now the more dangerous team, mainly on the counter, with chances including Thuram’s shot against the post, Cherki aiming inches right, and Ter Stegan saving superbly against Mbappe’s volley.
The second finally came with six minutes left on yet another break, when unselfish Mbappé squared for substitute Olise to tap into the empty net.
By Klaus Bergmann and Maximilian Wendl
