France were held to a 1-0 win over Germany in the European Championships earlier tonight.
The World champions managed to show what sets them apart from the rest of the teens in the competition with a controlled performance, and here at Anytime Football, we look at the five major talking points from tonight’s contest.
Paul Pogba impressed with his all-round performance
The 28-year-old Manchester United midfielder has been at the centre of several controversial debates for his club and country. Still, he managed to step up and produce an impressive performance tonight for his side.
Pogba’s outside of the boot pass to Lucas Hernandez directly played a big part in the own goal from Mats Hummels. He was tidy with the ball at his feet as well.
The Frenchman did well to control the game and stop Germany from gaining the upper hand. He did well to neutralize German build-up along with N’Golo Kante, and it was a complete midfield performance for the Frenchman.
Raphael Varane led the French defence
The Real Madrid defender has been linked with a move away from Santiago Bernabeu this summer, and he showed why Real Madrid should be doing everything to keep him at the club.
The 28-year-old central defender put on a quality display for France, making several crucial interceptions and winning vital duels across the 90 minutes.
The French international managed to keep the German attack quiet, and the visitors never got going because of Varane flawless performance at the back.
Antonio Rudiger ‘played dirty’, but caught on camera
The Chelsea centre back did a Luis Suarez during tonight’s game when he appeared to bite Paul Pogba. The Champions League winner with Chelsea, has previously promised to go any extent to win the match, before the game started, and he did everything to unsettle the “man of the match” today.
The Chelsea defender was lucky he did not receive a major punishment for the incident despite protests from French international.
Talented Germany lacked winning attitude
The Germans have always been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to international tournaments, but they were quite disappointing tonight.
The likes of Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz started in the attack, but the Germans rarely troubled the French defence.
There is no doubt that the German national team is littered with talents across the pitch, but they will need more time to get the balance of their squad right and challenge for a major tournament.
They are no longer a side capable of winning World Cups, and European Championships and teams will certainly fancy their chances against Germany this summer.
France will go a long way in Euro 2020
It was an important match for both the teams as Group F is the toughest group. France won the opener without scoring themselves, but they secure all important three points from their opening match in Group F.
What the score board or any statistics will not tell you is that the numbers could have been significantly different. Two goals, one from Mbappe and another from Benzema, were ruled out for offsides. VAR came into play to decide the fate of Benzema goal. Before these, one Rabiot effort ended up hitting on the post.
Few countries will be able to field a lineup as strong as France. And after the match today, the world champions will be the firm favourites to win the tournament. The quality and depth in Didier Deschamps’ squad shows that they are the most talented side in the competition and France will be expected to go all the way this summer.
