Football
Soccer

    France conquer Germany in closely contested thriller, and what's next at Euro 2020

    Owen ThompsonOwen Thompson15 June 2021
    France

    France

    A Mats Hummels own goal was the difference for France as they opened their Euros campaign with a 1-0 win over Germany in Munich.

    Didier Deschamps' side went into the tie as favourites to win the tournament and their campaign got off to the perfect start after 20 minutes.

    An exquisite pass from Paul Pogba found Lucas Hernandez at the back post, who's testing cross was calamitously converted past Manuel Neuer by the Borussia Dortmund centre-back to give France the lead.

    As they persistently pursued a foothold in the game, Germany squandered a host of important chances throughout the first half.

    Toni Kroos failed to make use of two dangerous free kicks whilst Ilkay Gundogan sliced a golden chance wide of the goal after a brilliant ball from Serge Gnabry.

    Having attained their crucial lead, Les Bleus seemed happy to invite more pressure from their opponents in the second half, defending deeply to frustrate Joachim Low's side and incentivise their own lethal counter attacks.

    They came agonisingly close to a second just minutes after the restart when Kylian Mbappe played through Adrien Rabiot. Despite having options around him, the midfielder went for goal himself but was denied by the post, much to the relief of Neuer.

    Much like the first half, Die Mannschaft were unable to capitalise on a variety of chances, despite enjoying large spells in the final third.

    Gnabry narrowly cleared the crossbar after latching on to a Roben Gosens cross before Presnel Kimpembe made a pivotal block to deny Thomas Muller.

    Hugo Lloris was also on hand to deny Gnabry with a strong save as German frustrations intensified.
    Having bided their time, France pushed for an all-important second in the game's latter stages, but their efforts were to no avail.
    A superb strike from Mbappe was ruled out for offside, with the PSG striker later being denied by Hummels after an enthralling battle for the ball with the defender.

    Karim Benzema appeared to have emphatically sealed the deal for his country upon his long-awaited return to an international tournament, but also fell victim to the linesman's flag with five minutes of normal time to go.

    In the end, one was enough for Les Bleus to secure all three points as Germany fell to an opening defeat in the Euros for the first time in their history
    You can read the full match report on our sister site Football365.

    What's next for France and Germany?

    As they look to bounce back from a disappointing defeat, Germany will welcome Portugal to the Allianz Arena on Saturday in a clash that will have meteoric implications on their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds.

    France can make it two wins from two in Group F on Saturday when they travel to Budapest to face a Hungary side who recently fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo and his aforementioned Portugal team.

    Coming up tomorrow - Wednesday

    Finland will attempt to move into the knockout stages tomorrow when they take on Russia in the 2pm (BST) kick-off.
    The Fins beat Denmark in their first match, although it was obviously overshadowed by other events.
    It shouldn't be forgotten though that it it is Finland's first major tournament, so a win over the Russians - who can't afford a defeat - would represent a big achievement.
    Group A then takes centre stage for the start of the second round of games.

    Wales take on Turkey at 5pm (BST), with the loser facing a likely elimination from the tournament.

    Meanwhile, group favourites Italy host Switzerland in Rome as they look to build on their impressive opening night win over Turkey.

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