Germany Falls Short Against France: A Game for the "Good Feeling," but Not the Result
In Spite of Defeat: A Game Fostering Euphoria Among the German National Team Members - Spirits remain high amongst the DFB team despite their loss, savoring the positivity that sport often brings.
Julian Nagelsmann, beaming with pride, clapped with each of his players, and the applause from the fans echoed during the lap of honor for the German team. The DFB squad had already faltered in claiming the Nations League title in the Final Four tournament against Portugal, and it only got worse with a third-place finish: The German football national team lost 0:2 (0:1) to France.
"I think, considering the chances and the playing style and so on, it wasn't deserved. Unfortunately, goals are an essential part of a football game," said Nagelsmann to RTL post-match discussion. Overall, the 37-year-old coach drew a positive conclusion after the performance against the French team, boasting their shining superstar Kylian Mbappé: "The game today has, in terms of feeling, done some good, of course not the result."
Nagelsmann had informed the team, looking forward to the upcoming games this year after the summer break: "If we are ready to invest less in none of the (World Cup) qualifying games than today, then we will win the games." They had demonstrated that they could create ten excellent chances against a top team despite absences. They just couldn't convert them.
Kimmich's analysis: "We were too impatient"
A poor conversion of chances, especially in the first half, and a strong French squad in the second half thwarted the third consecutive victory against the Grande Nation. First, Mbappé put the guests ahead just before halftime, mere moments before the break, in front of 51,313 spectators in Stuttgart. Then, the French captain laid the ball off to the substitute Bayern striker Michael Olise for the 2:0 (84').
"If you look at the first half, we should have been leading 3:0 after six minutes," said Germany captain Joshua Kimmich: "In the second half, we lost a bit of patience," added Kimmich. "It was only 0:1, not 0:3. But then we caught a counterattack after the next one. We were in possession of the ball again too impatiently and made too many mistakes. That's naturally perfect for the French," emphasized the Bayern professional: "If you look at the first half honestly, they didn't even want to win and still won."
In contradistinction to the dissapointing 1:2 loss in the semi-final against Portugal, Nagelsmann's team didn't have much to blame themselves for. However, they lacked efficiency and also luck, like a post shot from Florian Wirtz (37th minute). There was also VAR frustration with a penalty review and a disallowed goal from Deniz Undav (53rd).
The German team regained its playing joy and passion under Nagelsmann's guidance, but lacking the cold-bloodedness and the shooting luck were their undoings. Inspired by magician Wirtz and often by Pascal Groß's deep balls, the German team created chances after chances with the striking duo of Nick Woltemade and Niclas Füllkrug. However, precision was lacking.
Local hero Woltemade and the speedy Dortmund player Karim Adeyemi were denied by France's strong goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Wirtz also hit the post (37th minute). There was VAR frustration. After a long ball, Adeyemi fell in the penalty area over the diving Maignan. Referee Ivan Kruzliak initially pointed to the penalty spot but reversed his decision after a lengthy video review. The Slovak decided it was a dive by Adeyemi, who was shown a yellow card (31st minute).
Germany's wastefulness was punished by France's quick counter-attacks. After a cross from his Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni, Mbappé outwitted Joshua Kimmich in a captain's duel with a feint and scored into the far corner. Marc-André ter Stegen, who had made two excellent saves earlier, was still beaten.
Nagelsmann had emphasized before the kick-off that they needed to be more active and aggressive. What the national coach wished for, he got from his team, who returned to the familiar system with a four-man defense.
The screaming whistles for the referee's decisions and the frustration with the decision makers ultimately echoed around the stadium.
Keywords:- Football national team- Julian Nagelsmann- German team- Kylian Mbappé- Joshua Kimmich- Portugal- France- Lap of honor- Stuttgart- Bayern- Florian Wirtz- Karim Adeyemi- Nations League- RTL- Defeat- Michael Olise- Deniz Undav- Marc-André ter Stegen- VAR- Adrien Rabiot
Insights:- Referee Ivan Kruzliak's decision to disallow Deniz Undav's goal was met with strong criticism from Julian Nagelsmann, as the goal was called off after a VAR review due to a foul by Niclas Füllkrug on Adrien Rabiot.- Joshua Kimmich was caught out by Kylian Mbappé's first goal in the captain's duel, as Mbappé exploited Kimmich's advanced positioning on the counter on multiple occasions, contributing to France's chances.
Julian Nagelsmann, the coach of the German football national team, expressed his disappointment in the team's inability to convert chances, stating, "If we are ready to invest less in none of the (World Cup) qualifying games than today, then we will win the games." Kylian Mbappé, a shining superstar in the world of football, capitalized on the German team's wastefulness, scoring two goals against them in the Nations League game against France.
