The UEFA Nations League semifinals and subsequent third place match for Germany were always going to be difficult with the sheer number of injuries to regular first team players, but Julian Nagelsmann and company still gave it a good go. A narrow 2-1 defeat to Portugal at the Allianz Arena in Munich was followed up by a 2-0 loss in Stuttgart to France, losing out on the third-place medal, with the scoreline perhaps slightly doing Le Bleus some favors after a decent first half showing from Die Mannschaft.
A late first half goal from Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and a late second half goal from Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise sealed the victory for Didier Deschamps’ ide, but Germany had plenty of chances to go ahead in the first half. The lack of the final product in front of goal combined with far too much openness in the second half, partially caused by some of the changes made by Nagelsmann, were ultimately what led to Germany’s demise, leaving a sour taste to what could’ve been an international break to celebrate more progress.
Speaking after the match, new Bayern signee Jonathan Tah reflected on the amount of chances Germany created in the first half, but were unable to convert. Going 1-0 down also caused them to force the issue in the second half, which he felt invited France in to eventually score their second goal.
“We gave everything today. The first half was great. The only thing that was missing was a goal. We could’ve gone into the break with a 4-1 lead. In the second half, the game got a bit wild. We pressed high and took more risks, which opened up spaces for France to counterattack. It was difficult to defend with all the space behind, but at some point we had to try and take risks. Overall, although it’s difficult to say after a defeat, but it was a good game from us – we only missed goals,” the center back explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Qian Jun/Sports Press Photo/Getty Images
Taking things into consideration, Tah highlighting the positives is certainly a glass half full view of the international break overall for Germany. Not having Jamal Musiala in the attack is a huge miss for the Germans, and Tim Kleindienst, Jonathan Burkardt, and Jamie Leweling not being available certainly did not help. While they might not all be sure-fire starters, more depth in attack would have been greatly welcomed by Nagelsmann.
Looking for more thoughts on Germany’s 2-0 loss to France in the UEFA Nations League third-place match? Awesome, then we’ve got you covered with a look at Germany’s starting XI, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and some final takeaways on the match. You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, Acast, several other leading podcast distributors, or below:
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