Clash of the Titans for France. They narrowly beat the Germans 1:0 and entered the tournament successfully

Group F is the most attractive group in the tournament. France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary. It’s rightly referred to as the group of death. The first third of the group stage ended with an interesting duel between France and Germany. The silver medallists from the last EURA were slight favourites and confirmed this position. Thanks to an own goal by Hummels, they won against Germany 1: 0 and got an important 3 points.

The start of the match was cautious from both sides. The teams were slower to get going and didn’t want to make any mistakes. As time went on, the Germans had more of the game. They kept the ball more often, but France’s attentive defence did not let them do anything. They created only a few chances, but nothing dangerous came of them. France were far more dangerous.

More direct, more footballing, and also more likely to score. She proved that midway through the first half. In the 20th minute, Pogba broke free from the German siege on the right. With the help of his teammates, the ball reached a completely free Hernández, who tried to find Mbappé with his centre, but the ball was unluckily knocked into his own net by Hummels, sending France into the lead. A very awkward moment for the German returner.

The Germans tried to react immediately and do something about the unfavourable result. Unfortunately, apart from positional superiority and a few inaccurate finishes, they did not create anything. France was in a similar position and nothing interesting happened during the first half. After the 1st half the score was 1:0 for France.

2. the half time was much more varied and attractive. France could have finished off their opponents right from the start. Rabiot received the ball behind the defence, but from a slight angle he only hit the bar. After that, the Germans also started to threaten. Their best chance of the match came early. Gosens sent a perfect centre to Gnabry, but he missed with a half-volley.

The German pressure was mounting and the French were having a tough time. They managed to survive these moments and broke from a dangerous break. And Mbappé was at it again. He took the ball on the edge of the box, fooled the defenders and gave Neuer no chance with a beautiful shot to the far post. Unfortunately for him, the goal was disallowed for offside.

Germany tried to do something about the result, but there was already a huge cramp in their game. The substitutes didn’t help either. France tried to decide the game for good. Mbappé totally outmuscled Hummels in a speed duel and went at Neuer himself. But Hummels made a fantastic last minute save to deny the French gem a 100% chance.

Another German hesitation came soon after. Pogba took advantage of the loss in the middle of the pitch and sent Mbappé on a great run, who passed to a free Benzema, who made no mistake and increased France’s lead to 2: 0.

Unfortunately, VAR intervened again and the goal was disallowed again. Germany’s chances were still alive. For their part, it was just a huge embarrassment. Nothing came of their final push and France narrowly won. They took an important 3 points in the table and confirmed their role as Group F favourites.

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