Football: France Defeated by Germany, a First Since 2014

France Suffers Defeat to Germany in Football: A First since 2014

Three days after being humiliated at home with a 4-1 loss to Japan, Germany bounced back and defeated the French team 2-1 on Tuesday in a friendly match, marking their first victory over France since the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup. The defeat comes as a surprise for the French team, who underestimated a struggling German side that had just been humiliated by Japan.

A Wake-up Call for France

The French national team, known as Les Bleus, experienced their first defeat of the year at the hands of a resurgent Germany. Despite being in crisis themselves, the German team was galvanized by the presence of their long-standing rival. Just two days after firing Hansi Flick and appointing Rudi Voeller as interim coach, Germany, the host of Euro 2024, had every reason to expect a tough match against the unbeaten French team, who were almost guaranteed a spot in the continental tournament.

However, it was the French team underestimating their opponents, perhaps due to the recent struggles of a German team that had been in crisis for the past few months and had just been humiliated by Japan in their previous match. Didier Deschamps, the manager of the French team, made six changes to the starting lineup compared to the one that easily defeated Ireland 2-0, opting to rest star player Kylian Mbappé for the first time since November 30, 2022, and introducing an entirely new defense.

It appears that Deschamps did not give much importance to this friendly match, which had no stakes, just a week before the start of the Champions League. Nevertheless, the consequences were immediate, and the experimental French defense was overwhelmed, conceding two goals. The veteran Thomas Muller opened the scoring in the 4th minute, marking his 45th goal in 123 appearances for the German team, while Leroy Sané sealed the victory in the 88th minute, just before Antoine Griezmann scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.

A Naive Defense

The French defense, which had kept a clean sheet this year before their trip to Germany, showed signs of naivety, particularly in the center pairing of William Saliba and Jean-Clair Todibo. Benjamin Pavard, who was deployed on the right side, continued to be unreliable and struggled to contain the speed of Serge Gnabry. The 60,486 spectators at the Signal Iduna Park took pleasure in the French team’s defensive vulnerability, even performing the Mexican wave during the first half.

Influential Absences

The absence of Mbappé was sorely felt by the French team. The statistics speak for themselves: France has not won any of their last three matches without the Paris Saint-Germain striker. Only Kingsley Coman performed well, while Randal Kolo Muani and Antoine Griezmann, who captained the French team for the second time, put in poor performances. Kolo Muani, who aspires to replace the ageless Olivier Giroud as the team’s main striker, missed an opportunity to impress and failed to make an impact against a supposedly weak German defense. Giroud can breathe easy for now in terms of his chances for the Euro.

The early substitution of Ilkay Gundogan (25th minute), most likely due to injury, could have destabilized the German team, but the overall lackluster performance of the French team, coupled with an uncharacteristic technical sloppiness, made things easy for the Germans. The introduction of Ousmane Dembélé (65th minute) in place of Coman did not change the game either, despite his familiarity with the Borussia Dortmund stadium from his time with the club between 2016 and 2017. Dembélé may display incredible skill on the ball, but he continues to struggle with accuracy in the final third.

Germany Finds Redemption

Germany managed to hold their ground and reassure their fans with the victory over France, their first win against their European rivals since the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup. The French team will need to show a different side of their game when they face the Netherlands on October 13th if they want to secure their ticket to Euro 2024.

With information from AFP