Germany played for the first time after the coach’s resignation. And immediately defeated France!
Grigory Telingater September 13, 2023, 00:40 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
A match that will especially anger Barcelona fans.
The German team has nine months left until Euro 2024 at home. Throughout 2023, the team will only play friendly matches. The other day, after one of them, coach Hans-Dieter Flick was fired: the defeat against the Japanese (1-4) was too sensitive. Especially with the backdrop of the premiere of a documentary in which the problems between the coach and the players were seen.
The team was temporarily led by the sporting director of the German national team, Rudi Völler. The last time he worked as a coach was back in 2005. And now he is unlikely to last long. But already in the first minutes it became clear how much the players had freed themselves under Völler.
Already in the 4th minute, Müller scored from a pass from Henrichs, who this time entered the starting eleven. Before the goal, the German national team players played with their heels twice. The guests did not expect that the Germans could be so confident when they seemed to be in crisis.
As for the French team, its situation must also be taken into account. The finalists of the 2022 World Cup are confident in their qualifying group for Euro 2024, adding 15 points in five games. After another victory (2-0 over the Irish), Didier Deschamps decided to leave several leaders on the bench: Dembélé and Mbappé. The latter did not even come in as a substitute.
Taking into account Giroud’s injury, the French attack included Kolo Mauni, a man who was on fire in Germany all last season. This time he failed to score in the German stadium. The striker pointed out that in the second half he ended up with the ball in the other’s area, but instead of shooting, he slipped awkwardly. Because of the rain, the players of both teams could not always hold out.
Germany – France – 2:1
Photo: Stefan Matzke/Getty Images
A separate story is the captain’s armband of the German team. Initially Gündogan had it, but in the 25th minute he had to be substituted due to injury (at some point the Barcelona coach was sad). Müller became captain, but in the second half he had to be substituted. Ter Stegen finished the game with a bandage on his arm.
It seemed like the game would end with a minimal score, but at the end of the game the teams scored once each. First, Havertz gave an assist to Zane, who faced the goalkeeper and made no mistake. And immediately in response Camavinga took a penalty and Griezmann converted it. There weren’t enough guests for more.
Thus, the Germans won for the first time after five games without a win.
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