World: Friendlies
⚽ F. Wirtz (1), ⚽ K. Havertz (49)
By Rune Gjerulff @runegjerulff
An incredible seven-second screamer from Florian Wirtz and a second-half goal from Kai Havertz gave Germany a 2-0 win over France in Lyon.
| Photo: The German Football Association (DFB) |
After disappointing defeats to Turkey and Austria in November, Germany were determined to bounce back in tonight’s friendly against France in Lyon.
And the start could hardly have been better for Julian Nagelsmann’s side, who drew first blood after just seven seconds.
Toni Kroos, making his first appearance for Germany since the European Championship in 2021, picked out Florian Wirtz, who took a few touches in the French half before unleashing a shot into the top corner.
The goal clearly gave the away side confidence, but as the first half progressed, France managed to gain momentum and came very close to equalising in the 25th minute when Marc-André ter Stegen pulled off a superb save to keep out Kylian Mbappe’s cheeky finish at his near post.
And the Barcelona goalkeeper, filling in for the injured Manuel Neuer, came to the rescue again 10 minutes later when he denied Ousmane Dembele with a fine save.
As in the first half, Germany started strongly after the break and doubled their lead in the 50th minute through Kai Havertz. Wirtz found Musiala behind the defense and the Bayern prodigy rounded Samba before pulling the ball back for Havertz to tap into an empty net.
Dembele threatened at the other end five minutes later, firing a shot just wide of the post, but France struggled to put Germany under any real pressure in the second half, and for long periods the score was 3-0 rather than 2-1, with Maximilian Mittelstädt coming particularly close to increasing the lead on his debut.
In the closing stages, Mittelstädt almost scored an own goal, but a superb goal-line clearance by Antonio Rüdiger kept the ball out of the net.
All in all, there were plenty of positives to take away from the game for Julian Nagelsmann’s side, who will go into Tuesday’s friendly against Netherlands full of confidence after their performance tonight.
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