Kroos returned wonderfully and the Germans beat France. Even Mbappé was confused.
Anatoly Romanov March 24, 2024, 01:05 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The German team is improving ahead of Euro 2024 at home.
France lost a friendly at home to Germany. A wake-up call for the world runners-up before Euro 2024 and a good sign for the future hosts of the Euro Cup. The Germans still need victories.
The German team played its fifth match under the direction of Julian Nagelsmann. With this coach, the Germans defeated the United States (3-1), then drew with Mexico (2-2) and suffered two defeats in a row: against Turkey (2-3) and Austria (0-2). The results were alarming, even if they were only friendly.
The focus of the German team was Kroos, who returned to the team after almost three years. And the Real Madrid midfielder scored a goal already in the eighth… second! The Germans had barely played the ball from midfield when Kroos cut a cool long pass between the lines, where Wirtz, who had confused the French with a clever move, made a great opening. The Bayer midfielder improved his position and shot from outside the area: the ball hit the crossbar.
Nobody expected such a start to the game in Lyon. After this, it took a long time for the French to come to their senses. The hosts seemed to be practicing positional defense for half the time. Nagelsmann’s team had more possession of the ball and controlled the game. Only after 20 minutes did the French give their best. There was pressure and better ball possession. When developing attacks, Didier Deschamps’ team left a trio in defense, and Dembélé and Hernández occupied the widest possible positions on the flanks. The PSG winger created a scoring chance by moving away from left back Mittelstedt, who was making his debut for the Germans, and passing to Mbappé. Kylian stopped the ball on his first touch and shot dangerously on the second.
How Nagelsmann pulled a trick and the Germans lost to Türkiye:
The horrors of the German team continue! Nagelsmann’s team was taken aback by Turkish pressure
The period of activity of the French team gave them an advantage in shots at the end of the first half by 7:4. Mbappé became increasingly visible on the left and was close to scoring. Once I flew one on one at a fairly tight angle and decided to throw the ball over Ter Stegen, only the goalkeeper was prepared for it. He raised his hand and blocked the ball. The German team’s defense, unreliable in recent years, creaked but did not collapse.
The second half, like the first, the French team started very badly. One minute after the restart of play, Havertz almost scored after a pass from Wirtz. In that episode, the locals were lucky not to concede, but the goal soon arrived. The Germans carried out a major attack. Wirtz saw Musiala run up the middle and made a cutting pass. Yupamecano was taken out of his zone and Hernández missed the midfielder’s burst and did not close the gap. Musiala moved away from goalkeeper Samba and assisted the scorer Havertz.
The French could not catch their wave again. Deschamps’ team did not control the ball and did not return it quickly, and in defense, any penetrating pass from the Germans or a throw from behind created problems. After an hour of play, Deschamps made four substitutions at once, but apparently as planned. Giroud was expected to strengthen the attack, with Theo Hernández replacing his brother Lucas on the left.
I thought maybe after the break France would improve in the 20th minute of the half. But not. The German team’s play was very solid and balanced. The guests were simply better than the hosts. The world runners-up couldn’t even hit the target. Furthermore, if it weren’t for Samba’s wonderful save, Mittelstaedt would have marked his debut for the national team with a goal and brought the score to an important one.
Even Mbappé disappeared on the field. Only at the end did his pass lead to a dangerous moment, when Mittelstedt and Rüdiger almost scored an own goal (the ball hit the Real defender’s crossbar). Otherwise, they dealt with Kilian. Mbappé’s statistics: two shots, four dribbles, only one pass under attack and 25 turnovers of possession, the most on either team.
