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World Champions France comes into the 2020 Euros with the heartbreak of last edition’s final loss still alive in the minds of the manager, the players, and the fans.
Germany is planning a perfect farewell to Joachim Low who has now managed the national team for 15 years and led the Germans to success in the WC2014 but couldn’t win the UEFA European Championship, losing in the semi-final twice and ending up as runners-up in the 2008 edition.
Both sides are in Group F which is being referred to as the ‘Group of Death’ as it also contains defending champions Portugal and Hungary.
The Hugo Lloris-led side had an under-par qualification campaign as they won eight of their 10 matches but failed to beat group runners-up Turkey in two meetings.
On the other hand, Germany won seven of their eight games in the qualifiers losing 4-2 to the Netherlands in Hamburg after beating the Dutch team 3-2 in Amsterdam.
Team News
Didier Deschamps has called back Karim Benzema to the national team fold after a seven-year hiatus whilst leaving many star names like Dayot Upmecano, Ferland Mendy, Benjamin Mendy, Anthony Martial, and Alexandre Lacazette at home. Benzema suffered an injury in the warm-up match against Bulgaria, but the Real Madrid striker is expected to be fit for the tournament opener.
For Low’s last tournament in charge of Germany, Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels have been called back from their international retirement. The duo would be expecting to play a central part in the upcoming tournament, whilst Marco Reus opted out to keep himself fit for the next season.
Key Players
In midfield, France would be heavily reliant on Ngolo Kante to do the dirty work in the middle of the park and allow the more attack-minded players in the squad to do their job further up the field. Chelsea midfielder has added more to the attacking side of his game to transform into a complete midfielder since winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup but the Chelsea midfielder’s role is expected to stay the same with Les Blues.
Already a world champion, Kylian Mbappe is taking part in his first European Championship, and the PSG forward would have to rise to the occasion and supply goals for the French national team.
Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich would be expected to use his versatility and intelligence to switch between the right wing-back and midfield roles as and when required during the upcoming tournament.
Kai Havertz is an important part of the Germany forward line and would be expected to shake off his below-par season with Chelsea whilst playing for the Die Mannschaft. The 21-year old attacker proved to be a menace for the Latvia defence in the last warm-up game, but tougher challenges await the former Bayer Leverkusen star in the next four weeks.
Prediction
The mighty French team is well stacked with options in every area of the pitch. The forward line of Mbappe, Benzema, and Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann is expected to be too hot to handle for Germany in their tournament opener.
Germany lost to France in the semi-final of the Euros in 2016, and the Manuel Neuer-led team will walk out in the Allianz Arena backed by the home supporters to take a perfect revenge. A defence filled with stalwarts like Hummels, Antoine Rudiger, and Niklas Sule is expected to keep the French forwards silent.
