Germany 2-1 France: Initial reactions and observations

Initial reactions and observations

• Now you can say that France didn’t play with their A team — there was no Kylian Mbappe, no Dayot Upamecano, no Lucas Hernandez, no Olivier Giroud. That still doesn’t take away from this German performance. For the first time in months, Germany played with cohesion and confidence. Rudi Völler might be onto something, if he can keep this up.
• Thomas Müller scoring early really set the tone of the game. Neither side actually had very many clear cut chances, so getting a breakthrough in the first five minutes was the huge confidence boost the Germans needed to keep France at bay.
• Randal Kolo Muani looked pretty disappointing — not exactly what you expect from a 100m euro caliber player.
• Jonathan Tah and the rest of the defense had a solid outing despite the lack of a clean sheet — the best defensive performance by Germany in years.
• Will the DFB still shell out for someone like Nagelsmann after this game? We’ll have to wait and see. Even Flick started rather well at the beginning of his tenure. It remains to be seen if this is the well-documented “new manager bounce” or a real turning point for the German NT.

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Full time: Germany 2-1 France.

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88’ — Goal. Griezmann converts the penalty, making it 2-1.

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87’ — GOOOOOOOOOOAL! Leroy Sané puts the game to bed! 2-0!

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64’ — Subs: Kingsley Coman is off for France, while Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry come off for Germany. That’s most of the Bayern Munich contingent off the pitch now.

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45’ — The second half is underway!

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Halftime observations and analysis

• Germany actually do look good out there — was it all on Hansi Flick then? More data needed, since it’s only been one half of football.
• Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller look to be a level above the rest of the German contingent in the offensive phase. If only the others could keep up.
• On the other side of the pitch, Kingsley Coman has caused the Germans the most trouble — that tackle by Emre Can to stop him near the end of the first half was a thing of beauty. However, he is getting battered out there.

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Halftime: Germany 1-0 France.

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24’ — Sub: Gündogan seems to be injured, he comes off for Pascal Gross, with Thomas Muller taking the armband.

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4’ — GOOOOOOOAL! Thomas Muller Makes it 1-0!

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Kickoff: We’re underway!

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One hour until kickoff: We have lineups! Joshua Kimmich has been left out of the lineup with muscular problems. Rudi Völler’s first starting XI for Germany puts Thomas Müller up top, with Leroy Sané, Florian Wirtz, and Serge Gnabry behind him. Niklas Süle appears to be at right-back, but it could also be a back three.

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No more Hansi Flick — it’s Rudi Völler in charge now, but Germany still finds itself in a dire situation. Matched up against France, the best national team on the planet, the players find themselves in desperate need of a positive performance.

Several teams have representatives on both sides of the pitch today, chief among them being Bayern Munich. After all is said and done, what kind of experience will they take back with them to their clubs?

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While you’re waiting for the game, why not check out our newest episode of our podcast! We talk about the circumstances surrounding Hansi Flick’s sacking, what a potential replacement needs to fix, and whether this current generation of German talent is any good to begin with. Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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Match Info

Location: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany

Time: 9 pm local time, 3 pm EST

TV/streaming: Find Your Country

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