A mouth-watering potential preview of a late-stage Euro clash comes by way of an international friendly as this summer's hosts Germany travel to meet France in Lyon on Saturday.
Die Mannschaft head coach Julian Nagelsmann has brought veteran midfielder Toni Kroos back into the fold for the first time in nearly four years, with the Real Madrid legend hoping to add to his 106 caps with a first international appearance since being cast out following early Euro 2020 elimination.
France, meanwhile, will have to learn to play without ever-present veteran Antoine Griezmann, whose ankle injury forced his withdrawal from the squad, ending an impressive 84 consecutive game streak for the Atletico Madrid playmaker.
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As both sides deal with squad upheaval of various types, these two European giants know they have precious few chances to test their title chances before the start of the classic summer showcase.
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It's been nearly two years since France lost at home, when they were beaten 1-0 by Croatia in UEFA Nations League group stage action. Yet Les Bleus are hardly infallible, and facing the prospect of playing without Antoine Griezmann is something they haven't needed to deal with in quite some time.
Germany, meanwhile, look revived under Julian Nagelsmann, showing a response to adversity they haven't displayed for some time. It seemed for a while that the Germany squad was bleeding talent and failing to replace the prime skill sets it had lost, but one look at this current roster shows they are stacked at every position.
The problem still remains that Germany play up, or down, to
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