The German national team won the first game after the dismissal of Hansi Flick. There was a 2-1 (1-0) win against France under interim coach Rudi Völler on Tuesday (September 12th, 2023) – in which, above all, the performance of the DFB team, for which Thomas Müller (4th) and Leroy Sané (87th). ) who scored goals was remarkable.
“We knew we would have to suffer today. We worked hard and rewarded ourselves at the right moments. So of course it’s fun when you win against France“said Müller after the strong fighting performance of the German team.”But we don’t need to overstate this now, we still have a long way to go. But it was such a small emotional release.“The 1-0 goalscorer also praised Völler and his assistant coaches Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner,”how they approached the whole thing in the short term“.
“That just feels good. Even if we had still drawn, it wasn’t really about the result but about the way we fought and played with passion. That was important and I really liked it“Völler said.
Three changes from Völler
The 63-year-old decided not to set the signals to restart, at least in terms of personnel. Compared to the embarrassing 1:4 against Japan, the interim coach only made three changes: Jonathan Tah moved to the right defense for the ailing Joshua Kimmich, Benjamin Henrichs defended on the left instead of Nico Schlotterbeck and Müller stormed up front for Kai Havertz. Otherwise, the personnel and formation were similar to Hansi Flick’s line-up in his last game as national coach.
The game against France was also the last for Völler; he had reiterated several times that the test would be an exception. So, more than 19 years after his last appearance as national coach, he went into his 54th international match and then looked for the new head coach together with DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and his deputy Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Müller completes a wonderful attack
And whoever that is, he was shown in the early stages of the game against France how good the German team can be. After a great combination including masterpieces from Leroy Sané and Emre Can, Henrichs finally crossed to Müller, who scored his first DFB goal in almost 15 months (4th). And shortly afterwards there was just a little bit of accuracy missing for the second goal when Serge Gnabry’s curling shot narrowly missed the far corner (9′).
Although the personnel were very similar to the Japan game, the German team’s performance was completely different. Völler let his players defend much deeper and let the French gain possession of the ball – and then strike with quick attacks from a more defensive formation. This security inspired the team; at the beginning, after a long time, they once again exuded lightness and enthusiasm for the game.
France takes command, Germany defends in a disciplined manner
But then the class of the vice world champion shone through. Randal Kolo Muani was sent into the penalty area, but was knocked over by Antonio Rüdiger and prevented from finishing (20th) – referee Anthony Taylor did not see this as an unfair offense, but the decision was still somewhat fortunate from the German perspective. However, that faded after that as Ilkay Gündogan had to be substituted early due to an injury (25′). The captain fell on his back after a header in the early stages and was unable to continue playing.
Shortly afterwards, Kolo Muani had the first goal for the French. The ex-Frankfurt and New Parisian tried from 15 meters, but ultimately missed quite clearly (30th). Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to intervene for the first time when Aurelien Tchouameni headed the ball from a free-kick cross (37′). However, the disciplined defending DFB team did not allow more in the first half against their increasingly dominant opponents.
“From the first minute you could feel positive energy. It was a very good first half against a very strong team, the first ten minutes in particular were excellent” said sports show expert Bastian Schweinsteiger.
France bounces back from the Germans without Mbappé
Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps initially refrained from reacting and left superstar Kylian Mbappé further out. His colleagues continued to have problems with the passionate Völler team, who were repeatedly applauded by the fans for their duels. After a while, Tchouameni gave a hint of danger again with a long-range shot that Ter Stegen was able to parry (57′).
As a result, the DFB team managed to make the game more open and increasingly managed to relieve the defense with their own ball relays. There was a growing impression that the German team could stop the crisis after being eliminated from the preliminary round of the World Cup and four defeats from the last five games against France. Even before the final phase began, it was actually clear that, regardless of the result, it was a big step forward. Because the team under Völler showed discipline, passion and self-confidence again.
Sané shines at the front and steps at the back
And the DFB team needed that in the final phase. France put the pressure on again and Antoine Griezmann forced Ter Stegen into his first great deed of the evening with a curling shot (83′). And then Leroy Sané provided the final reward for the self-sacrificing fight. After a great pass from Kai Havertz, the winger stayed ice cold in front of the goal and made it 2-0 (87th).
But Sané was also responsible for the fact that the victory faltered at least a little. After his foul on Eduardo Camavinga, France received a penalty – and Griezmann converted it safely (89th). But the Germans wouldn’t allow anything more. It was a victory for the team and Völler – who immediately stopped the crisis by stepping in as national coach.
“That was balm for the soul – both for the fans and for us. That gives us confidence and that was what we definitely needed now“said ter Stegen.