Chapter 803 Vs France
Chapter 803: Chapter 803 Vs France
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[15-06-2021 |Allianz Arena, Germany| 20:10 CET]
[10’]
The first ten minutes were a tactical chess match more than a football match, both sides filled with nervous tension as they felt each other out, neither willing to be the first to overcommit. France probed through Kanté and Pogba, the latter pulling the strings from deeper than usual, while Germany’s wing-backs held their positions with discipline. The Man U prince seemed to pick out a chance when he received the ball from the middle, as instead of passing it back to Rabiot, he deftly spun away from Müller and Kross’s press.
In one sometho motion, he escaped the two veterans, gaining a yard of separation, and pinged a cross-field pass toward the right flank. Benzema pushed off against Rüdiger, stepped toward the descending ball, received it with his chest, and sent it to the surging Griezmann. The Barcelona man nudged it down with his thigh, fighting off Gündoğan, who tried to pull at his arm.
The little Frenchman wriggled free of Gündoğan’s tug and slipped a clever pass between Hummels and Ginter, finding Mbappé’s diagonal run from the left. The Parisian striker latched onto it inside the box, took one touch to set himself, and lashed a low effort across goal that had Neuer hurling himself to his right. The big German got a strong hand on it, palming it wide for a corner.
"Mbappé, with the first real chance of the evening," Mowbray announced. "And Manuel Neuer, equal to it. France is looking dangerous already."
"That’s the threat, isn’t it?" Jenas observed. "Germany can’t give that front three even half a yard. They’ll punish you every time."
The corner came to nothing, as Hummels rose at the near post to head it clear, and Germany finally settled into possession of their own. Kroos collected the clearance just inside his own half, took a touch, and began the patient circulation rather than looking for a quick counter. The Real Madrid man stroked it back to Ginter, who fed it forward to Kimmich, the right wing-back already pushing up the touchline.
"Germany is trying to find their rhythm now," Mowbray noted. "Kroos is getting on the ball, dictating tempo. This is what they need."
Around the 18th minute, a few minutes of cagey possession followed before Germany engineered their first real opening. Müller dropped into the middle third, dragging Kanté with him, which opened a corridor for Havertz to drift wider. Gündoğan spotted it instantly, threading a pass into the Chelsea man’s path.
Havertz took it on the half-turn, immediately driving at Hernández, pulling him out of position. Seeing this, he slipped a clever ball back toward the edge of the box where Müller had arrived late. The Bayern veteran struck it first time, sending a weighted effort that whistled just wide of the rooted Lloris’s left-hand post.
"Inches away from a dream start for Germany!" Mowbray exclaimed. "Müller, arriving from nowhere, and you’d back him to do better with that one."
"Brilliant move, though," Jenas added. "That’s the Germany we saw against Latvia. Müller pulling defenders out of position, runners breaking from deep. France didn’t have an answer for it."
The near-miss seemed to galvanise the hosts, and for the next stretch, Germany pushed France back. Kimmich and Gosens especially worked hard, stretching the pitch and giving Kroos and Gündoğan room in the middle to manoeuvre. Hummels stepped out with the ball more than once, using the space, to link up the passing play.
Their constant pressure culminated in the 25th minute when Hummels found the connection with Gnabry, who dropped into the middle third. The Munich man found his club teammate Thomas Müller, who spun away from Rabiot’s guard, pulling Kimpembe out of position. The German veteran flicked it onto the left wing, finding Gosens, who cut inwards, trying to break past Hernández.
He tried to find the angle forward by nudging the ball beyond his marker, but before he could follow through, a small black figure came sliding across the turf. Kanté swept the ball away, springing up in motion to repossess it as he flicked it to Kimpembe. The Frenchman didn’t even break a sweat sending it forward to Pogba, who had already started his trot back into midfield.
Pogba carried it ten yards, drawing Kroos toward him, then released Mbappé down the left channel with a no-look pass that drew gasps from the home crowd. The PSG forward burned past Ginter as if the German wasn’t even there, the touchline shrinking under his feet. Hummels came across to cover, but Mbappé had already cut it back to Benzema, who’d ghosted into the box untracked.
The Madrid striker, on his international return, did not hesitate and met it first time with a precise side-footed finish that arrowed toward the bottom left corner. Neuer reacted, springing across his goal, but the angle was tight no matter how he stretched out. The venom behind the strike carried too much power, smashing into the side netting before the German captain could grasp it.
For one heartbeat, the Allianz Arena fell silent. Then the small pocket of French fans behind the goal erupted, blue smoke billowing as Benzema raced away toward the corner flag. He slid to his knees, arms spread wide, before slapping the corner flag in jubilation.
"KARIM BENZEMAAAA!!!" Mowbray cried out. "Five and a half years since his last France goal, and what a moment to break the duck! The prodigal son returns and punishes Germany!"
"That was clinical, Guy," Jenas added, almost reverent. "Look at the run, look at the awareness, look at the finish. He’s been back, what, three weeks? And he’s already operating on a different frequency to everyone else on the pitch."
[France 1-0 Germany — Benzema 27’]
[30’]
The goal punctured the German rhythm, and France smelled blood. Within three minutes of the restart, they nearly had a second when Mbappé picked up a loose pass on the halfway line and turned the retreating Kimmich inside out before sliding it across to Pogba. The Barcelona man’s first-time effort skidded toward the right side of the goal, but Neuer got low to punch it clear.
Rüdiger pounced on the loose ball, muscling Benzema out of the way before quickly distributing to Gündogan, who immediately recycled possession to calm the storm. Germany needed a breath, and the City man gave it to them, stroking the ball laterally between Hummels and Ginter as Löw barked instructions from the touchline, gesturing wildly for his side to push higher.
Slowing the game down, the hosts gradually reasserted themselves, and by the 36th minute, they had France pinned back inside their own half. Gündoğan and Kroos exchanged a series of one-twos that pulled Pogba and Rabiot out of shape, and the resulting overload allowed Gosens to surge into space down the left. The Atalanta wing-back whipped in a curling delivery that caused all sorts of problems in the box.
Havertz nimbly plucked the rebound down at the edge of the box, sliding left to dodge Rabiot’s lunge. His next touch took him another stride past Pavard, who jumped in late, and the Chelsea man fell to the ground with a meaty thud. Carlos del Cerro’s whistle pierced the night air, and the home crowd roared its approval as the Spanish referee pointed twenty-three yards from goal, just off-centre to the left.
"Free kick to Germany in a dangerous area," Mowbray noted as Pavard protested mildly before backing away. "And you fancy Kroos from here."
As expected, it was the Real Madrid man who stood over it alongside Gündoğan, the pair exchanging a brief word as Lloris organised a four-man wall. Kroos took two measured steps back, as Gündoğan took three of his own, eyeing the wall, trying to pick out his angle.
Tension seemed to rise a notch as the entire Alianz held its breath, all eyes focused on the two men in front of the ball, wondering who would take it. Referee Cerro did a final check, reprimanding a few rowdy players and shooing the wall back behind the line.
(FWEEET!)
Gündoğan moved first, jogging in at an angle that caused Lloris to shift his weight a fraction, and that was all Kroos needed. The Madrid man skipped over the ball at the last instant, leaving his City teammate to shape his run differently than expected. Gündoğan didn’t curl it, choosing instead to drill it low, hard, beneath the jumping wall, sending the ball skipping off the turf like a stone across water, arrowing toward the bottom left.
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TO BECONTINUED...