Nagelsmann plans line-up changes for France clash

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann is planning to make changes for Sunday’s UEFA Nations League third-place playoff against France.

Following a disappointing 1-2 semi-final defeat to Portugal earlier this week, Germany will look to end their UEFA Nations League campaign on a high when they face France in the third-place playoff in Stuttgart on Sunday.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, head coach Julian Nagelsmann revealed he intends to rotate his squad – and did not rule out a return to a back four, having deployed a three-at-the-back system against Portugal.

“There will be a few changes. I won’t go into detail – we haven’t made all the final decisions yet. The system we used against Portugal was similar to the one against Italy. Tomorrow, we’ll try to win the ball higher up the pitch than we did on Wednesday, so we’ll adapt our system to the opponent,” he explained.

Nagelsmann acknowledged the depth and quality of the French squad, but insisted he remains confident in his team’s ability to come out on top, highlighting Germany’s 2-0 win in March 2024 as proof they can beat them.

“What stands out is the quality they have all the way down to the Under-21 level. Yes, they have some issues in certain positions, but overall, their quality is exceptional. It’s hard to break them down when they’re in rhythm. But we beat them in March, and we’ll try to do it again tomorrow,” he said.

“Our aim is to keep them as far away from goal as possible. We need to be better and more aggressive in possession than we were against Portugal.”