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- Germany beat France 2-1 thanks to an early goal from Thomas Muller and a late strike from Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane.
- Griezmann added a consolation goal for the visitors from the penalty spot in the 90th minute.
- The victory represents the perfect response for Germany after the humiliation at the hands of Japan just a few days ago.
Germany player ratings: Sane lights it up for Voller
Contents
Marc-Andre ter Stegen 8/10 – Made a string of impressive saves to keep France out and nearly saved Griezmann’s penalty.
Benjamin Henrichs 8/10 – Defended and attacked well and played a huge part in Germany’s opener.
Niklas Sule 7/10 – Made some vital blocks for his team in defence.
Jonathan Tah 7/10 – Calm and collected at the back and didn’t do an awful lot wrong.
Antonio Rudiger 7/10 – Not a natural fullback but did just about as well as you could have expected.
Emre Can 6/10 – Struggled with the French midfield at times but battled away.
Ilkay Gundogan N/A
Serge Gnabry 6/10 – Looks like a player lacking in confidence and struggled against Pavard.
Florian Wirtz 7/10 – Had plenty of bright moments and looked dangerous every time he picked up the ball on the turn.
Leroy Sane 9/10 – The perfect wing display from Sane and he rounded it off with a lovely finish to make it 2-0.
⚽️ GOAL | France 0-2 Germany | Leroy Sané
Leroy Sané doubles the lead for Germany. Kai Havertz with the assist.pic.twitter.com/ETJEkdGBje
— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) September 12, 2023
Thomas Muller 8/10 – A vindicated return to the starting lineup and got Germany on their way with the opener.
Substitutes
Pascal Gross 7/10 – Came on early for Gundogan and didn’t look out of place.
Julian Brandt 6/10 – Had more defensive than offensive work to do.
Kai Havertz 7/10 – His ball for Sane for the second goal was a thing of beauty.
Robin Gosens N/A
Jonas Hofmann N/A
France player ratings: A lifeless display from Deschamps’ men
Mike Maignan 6/10 – Perhaps will feel he should have done better for Muller’s goal but it was from close range.
Benjamin Pavard 6/10 – Did well against Gnaby but was disappointing going forward.
William Saliba 6/10 – Didn’t get close enough to Muller for the German opener.
Jean-Clair Todibo 7/10 – Excellent at carrying the ball out of defence and made some impressive recovery tackles.
Theo Hernandez 4/10 – Was run ragged by Sane and struggled offensively.
Adrien Rabiot 4/10 – Ponderous in possession and not intense enough out of it.
Eduardo Camavinga 6/10 – Tried his best to France moving forward and looked elegant on the ball.
Aurelien Tchouameni 6/10 – Felt as if he was covering for Rabiot a lot which hampered him but he still did okay.
Antoine Griezmann 7/10 – The brightest spark in the French team and always looked the most likely to score.
Goal Griezmann converts the penalty #GERFRA #ALLFRA #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/PxyA1aGFVd
— Pele World (@FctvPl442) September 12, 2023
Kingsley Coman 5/10 – Lacked quality in the final third
Randal Kolo Muani 4/10 – Was anonymous until he was substituted off.
Substitutes
Marcus Thuram 6/10 – Should have started the game after his goal against Ireland.
Ousmane Dembele 7/10 – France looked instantly better after his introduction.
Jules Kounde N/A
Youssouf Fofana N/A
Germany vs France match summary and highlights
After being humiliated on home turf by Japan just four days ago, Germany came into this one with a new management team and a point to prove. Hansi Flick’s tenure had been turbulent to say the least but Rudi Voller’s temporary reign has started off in the best possible way.
As expected, Volle made a string of changes to the starting lineup for the visit of France and one of the players he brought into the first eleven repaid him immediately. Thomas Muller, who will go down as one of Germany’s greatest-ever players, gave the home side the lead after just four minutes.
Just two days after they sacked Hansi Flick, Germany are leading France 1-0 thanks to a Thomas Muller goal!#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/Hb391UBME7
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 12, 2023
Benjamin Henrichs made a bursting run into the box from the full-back position before cutting the ball back to the Bayern Munich striker who controlled the ball expertly on his chest before rifling the ball past Mike Maignan with his left foot.
The subsequent 84 minute were relatively lifeless, however, Germany secured the win in the 88th minute when Leroy Sane finished cooly after a sublime through ball from Kai Havertz. A few minutes later, Antoine Griezmann made things interesting from the penalty spot but it was too little, too late from a French perspective.
Player of the match: Leroy Sane
After a dismal display against Japan, Leroy Sane was perhaps fortunate to start the game tonight. However, Voller’s decision was more than vindicated with the Bayern Munich winger putting in a vintage display against France. He tormented Hernandez throughout and got a well-earned goal late on when he latched on to a Havertz pass to bend the ball around Maignan in the France goal.
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