Nations League: Germany also loses against France

Germany - France 0:2 (0:1)

Goals: 0:1 Mbappé (45th + 1), Olise (84th)

Spectators in Stuttgart: 51,000

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After the poor performance in the Nations League semifinal against Portugal, national coach Julian Nagelsmann wanted to see some emotion and enthusiasm – and his players didn't disappoint at first. In the third-place match against France, the German men's national football team's attitude was on point from the start.

In the first quarter of an hour, the game basically only went in one direction: Nick Woltemade (2nd minute) and Karim Adeyemi (6th) had the best chances and only missed the early 1-0 because they shot straight into the arms of French goalkeeper Mike Maignan from close range.

At the other end, German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen made good saves to deny Rayan Cherki (21') and Loic Badé (22'). Florian Wirtz's shot hit the post in the 37th minute. A penalty for the German team had been rightly revoked after video review for a dive by Adeyemi (35').

Surprising lead by Kylian Mbappé

Germany's lead seemed only a matter of time when, just before halftime, French superstar Kylian Mbappé—who had previously had a poor performance—struck the match. He received a long cross in the penalty area and fired into the far corner for an undeserved 1-0 (45'+1').

Shortly after the restart, a German goal by substitute Deniz Undav was disallowed after video review (56th minute). Passer Niclas Füllkrug committed a foul while recovering the ball. France relied on counterattacks: In the 59th minute, Marcus Thuram narrowly missed the post, but otherwise, the French often failed to capitalize on their quick counterattacks. And when they did, ter Stegen repeatedly made strong saves.

Weak second half of the German team

The German team made little forward progress in the final quarter of an hour. Overall, their performance in the second half was significantly weaker than the first. France's defense sat deep and intercepted many balls. Ultimately, it was Bayern Munich's Michael Olise who successfully finished off one of the many counterattacks to make it 2-0 (84').

All in all, the German team experienced a disappointing mini-tournament in front of their own fans. A good first half against France was not enough overall.

More on the German national football team’s match against France soon.