PLAYER RATINGS | France 0-2 Germany: Florian Wirtz-inspired Germany ease past feeble France
International friendly, 23/03/24
In France’s penultimate match before this summer’s Euros, Didier Deschamps’ side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against the hosts of the upcoming tournament, Germany.
In what was Deschamps’ 150th game managing Les Bleus, he saw his side immediately fall behind. From the kick-off, Toni Kroos, making his return to international football, played a vertical ball into Florian Wirtz, who had a lot to do from 30 yards out, but rifled his shot into the top corner of Brice Samba’s goal, via the underside of the bar.
Behind within seven seconds of kick-off, France struggled to gain a foothold in the game with a lack of intensity in and out of possession and a string of uncharacteristic technical errors seeing them cede possession and control to Germany. After 17 minutes,Les Bleus had just 32% possession.
However, there was a reaction. France began winning balls high and Deschamps’ side began to have joy down the wings with Lucas Hernandez and Ousmane Dembélé particularly influential. The latter was impressive in one-on-one situations, but as is often the case, lacked the final ball.
It was Kylian Mbappé who had France’s best match of the half, latching onto a Hernandez ball and driving towards Marc -André Ter Stegen. However, he made the wrong choice and attempted to chip the Barcelona goalkeeper, a choice that was telegraphed by Ter Stegen who stayed on his feet and made a relatively comfortable save.
Didier Deschamps manages his 150th game for France this evening.
✅ 97 victories in that time
