France defeat Germany 2-1 despite a promising start

FULL TIME: France rally to defeat Germany 2-1, handing the Germans their second consecutive international defeat and almost certainly ensuring their relegation in the Nations League.

---

94’ — France concedes a second corner, but that too is cleared. Germany win a final free kick, but France defends. That’s the ballgame.

---

93’ — Germany win one last free kick. France replaces Kanté with 6’4” Nzonzi.

---

91’ — Griezmann makes way for NDombele for the final two minutes.

---

90’ — Germany waste a corner, taking it before all their players are even set.

---

88’ — Thomas Müller replaces Serge Gnabry before a corner kick. Dembélé subsequently takes a shot on goal, blocked by Neuer.

---

85’ — Mbappé makes way for Ousmane Dembélé (remember him?).

---

83’ — Ginter is going: Löw replaces Ginter with Julian Brandt.

---

80’ — Goal France: Griezmann expertly puts it away. France claim the lead, 2-0.

---

79’ — Mbappé feeds Matuidi in the box. Mats Hummels attempts to tackle him but clips him as well as the ball. The referee calls for a penalty.

---

75’ — Löw replaces Leroy Sané with Julian Draxler. Sané isn’t too happy about it.

---

74’ — Both teams look bored at the moment. Dribble, dribble, back-pass, forward, back, repeat.

---

67’ — Gnabry takes a strong shot on goal after Kimpembe carelessly gives the ball away to Germany.

---

64’ — Goal for France: Paul Pogba serves Hernandez out wide on the left. Hernandez launches a cross inside to Griezmann, who is lingering rather far back behind Giroud. He somehow connects with the ball to head it past Neuer into the far corner from impressive range.

---

59’ — France wins a corner as Nico Schulz manages to keep with Mbappé on a fast break and knock the ball out of bounds.

---

57’ — Thilo Kehrer is flirting with a yellow-red, as he fouls Mbappé on the sideline. The foul was arguably worth a yellow card.

---

55’ — Schulz finds Sané with a cross, but his shot goes wide of the far post.

---

52’ — Mbappé breaks away from Niklas Süle but just can’t quite get past Neuer in the ensuing one on one.

---

Second half — Here we go. France kick off this time.

---

Halftime — Germany are winning.

---

43’ — Another free kick for France. Pogba shoots it into the wall. He’s been dreadful this game so far.

---

40’ — Close call for Germany. Griezmann turns and sends the ball into the area for Mbappé. He’s a hair late to put a toe on the ball and score.

---

34’ — Sané with another chance, blocked at the last moment.

---

29’ — Ginter receives a yellow card for bringing Griezmann down. France have another free kick just outside the box on Germany’s right flank.

---

28’ — Kehrer gives up a dangerous free kick outside Germany’s penalty area. France can’t do anything with it though.

---

24’ — Ginter nearly scores in the chaos after a corner kick. Lloris manages to deflect the ball, and Germany will try it again.

---

19’ — Near miss by Germany. Kimmich plays the ball up to Leroy Sané who passes to Werner inside the box. The ball remains just a hair ahead of Werner, and he’s unable to connect as Lloris swats the ball away.

---

14’ — Goal for Germany: Toni Kroos converts from the penalty spot for a handball. France’s Kimpembe’s arm was struck by Leroy Sané’s cross attempt as he slid in the box.

---

11’ — Timo Werner creates a great chance for Germany. He races forward with Gnabry to his left, but France manages to interrupt the attack before Sané can score.

---

9’ — Well, wasn’t that interesting? Kylian Mbappé blows past Germany’s left flank and beats Mats Hummels to deliver a cross for Giroud. He fortunately cannot get to it.

---

Kickoff — The ball is rolling. Germany is plaing in a 3-4-3 against World Champion France.

---

One hour until kickoff: Lineups are out! Leroy Sane finally starts!

This lineup looks like a 3-4-3 or (defensively speaking) a 5-2-3, with five defenders to support Toni Kroos and Joshua Kimmich and prevent Kylian Mbappé and co. from scoring.

Here is the team they will try to contain:

Man the barricades!

---

Germany’s next and greatest test since the World Cup 2018 has arrived: they now will face the defending World Champions France, who remain undefeated. Head coach Jogi Löw appeared completely unruffled after his latest controversial lineup lost 0-3 to a young Netherlands team. And why should he be? The DFB reportedly has no plans to replace him even if Germany continues to stumble down the world rankings.

Although Germany is definitely the underdog going into this match, Löw still has the opportunity to repair some of the damage to his and the team’s reputation. He could start by selecting a lineup that actually makes sense.

Löw confirmed that Manuel Neuer will stand in goal, despite justified concerns about his current form, and that Jerome Boateng will miss the match, having suffered a calf injury against the Netherlands. Beyond that, it is anyone’s guess how Löw will line up the team.

For what it’s worth, here’s mine:

Neuer; Ginter, Süle, Hummels, Hector; Can, Kimmich, Kroos; Brandt, Werner, Draxler

GINTER IS COMING! (please no)

---

Match Info

Location: Stade de France, Paris, France

Time: 8:45 pm local, 2:45 pm EST

TV/streaming: Find Your Country

Tips for commenting:

1. If you’re a new member, feel free to introduce yourself. Don’t feel pressured or anything, we’re mostly very friendly. Also, we’re from all parts of the world so don’t feel shy if you’re from a country that doesn’t seem represented on the blog.
2. Refresh the page regularly to keep up with the discussion. One refresh every 55-60 seconds is ideal but if that’s too much then just try for one every five minutes and after every goal.
3. The goal celebrations are for everyone to participate in. Even if you’re lagging behind the others, keep replying to the most recent call of the player’s name. Even if you missed the first call, just start from the second, and so on.
4. While swearing is allowed within reason, please be polite to your fellow posters and avoid gratuitous obscenities.

Check out our beginners thread if you have any more questions. That’s about it. Auf geht’s!

Looking for an unending well of Bayern Munich content? Sign up for an SBNation account and join the conversation on Bavarian Football Works. Whether it’s full match coverage and analysis, breaking news or something completely different, we have it all.