Germany Gets a Draw Against France
Germany achieved a 2-2 draw against a strong France thanks to a goal from Lars Stindl in the 93rd minute, after a match with good attacking plays from both teams. Friendly match on FIFA date. Video on YouTube.
Germany continues to not lose a single match since reaching the semifinals of Euro 2016, where they were defeated by France, who were clearly superior for a large part of the match today.
France won the initial tactical battle and had possession in the German half during the first twenty minutes, creating dangerous situations near the goal that tested German central defenders Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle,
Although Germany had the ball in the first three minutes, and ended that position with a good opportunity from Mesut Özil that was ruled offside against Timo Werner. When France took control of the ball, they started to dominate.
In the 6th minute, Corentin Tolisso passed the ball into the box for Mbappé, who delivered a dangerous cross that Süle cleared.
In the 11th minute, it was Hummels who made a save by anticipating Mbappé as he was about to receive the ball in an excellent position.
In the 8th minute, a cross from Jallet reached Matuidí who had a slightly wide shot.
German goalkeeper Kevin had to come to the rescue on two occasions, in the 19th and 32nd minutes, against shots from Lacazzete and Mbappé, making two good saves.
In the 34th minute, French dominance translated into a goal when Lacazzete scored, with a shot into an empty net from close range after a great play by Martial, who had dribbled past Süle and passed the ball into the center as Trapp came out (34th minute).
In the meantime, Germany had managed to relieve some of the pressure from France with periods of ball possession, although without creating many chances.
The best opportunity came for Werner in the 39th minute in a one-on-one with Mandanda, but his touch on the ball was too weak, allowing Varane to easily reach the goal line and avoid the equalizer.
In the second half, Germany improved significantly and already in the 52nd minute they had a great chance with defender Antonio Rüdiger, who received a cross from Julian Draxler from the left.
In the 53rd minute, they drew level through Werner, who took advantage of a great through ball from Mesut Özil in a counterattack.
Chances continued to be created from both sides. In the 58th minute, Trapp deflected an excellent long-range shot from Martial for a corner and in the 70th minute, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos hit a free kick against the crossbar.
Almost immediately, France scored their second goal, again by Lacazzete with an exquisite pass from Mbappé that caught the German defense by surprise.
When the match seemed settled, Germany scored the equalizer. It started with a great cross into the box from Özil, which Mario Götze passed for Stindl to finish with a shot at the near post.
Match details:
2 - Germany: Trapp; Can (Stindl, 83), Hummels (Rüdiger, 46), Süle, Plattenhardt; Khedira (Rudy, 75), Kroos; Özil, Gündogan (Götze, 65), Draxler; Werner (Wagner, 85).
2 - France: Mandanda, Jallet (Pavard, 64), Varane, Umititi, Digne (Kurzawa, 82); Rabiot; Tolisso, Matuidi (Nzomzi, 64); Mbappe, Martial; Lacazzete (Griezmann, 75).
Goals: 0-1 (34th min, Lacazzette), 1-1 (56th min, Werner), 1-2 (71st min, Lacazzete), 2-2 (93rd min, Stindl
Referee: Cüneyt Cakir (Turkey) cautioned Wagner
Incidents: Friendly match played at the Rhein Energie Stadion in Cologne in front of 30,000 spectators.