France vs Germany 17/10/18

17 October 2018

After playing out a scoreless draw in the UEFA Nations League opener, France and Germany are set to face-off against each other in the return leg that shall take place at the Stade de France in Paris.

With a record of six wins and a draw, Les Bleus have wrapped up their second World Cup title, defeating Croatia in the big finale by four goals to two. However, Didier Deschamps’ side struggled to maintain the same performance after returning home, having been held to a 2-2 draw with Iceland although they were huge favorites to walk away with a victory. Still, France managed to defeat the Netherlands in the second round of the Nations League, as they currently top the Group A/1 as the only undefeated team.

Meanwhile, after the World Cup fiasco that saw they heading towards exit already after the group stage, the former holders are yet to find the way out of a severe-looking crisis. Although they’ve split points with France and barely pulled off a 2-1 triumph over Peru in a friendly challenge, a devastating 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands last weekend has shown Joachim Low still has some serious problems in his dressing room. Furthermore, Low frantically urges his players to bounce back, as he plans to end a 4-game winless streak against big rivals.

With the injuries of Samuel Umtiti and Raphael Varane, Deschamps has to rely on Everton’s Kurt Zouma and PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe to hold down the backline. As for the visitors, Leroy Sane, who returned to the national team after skipping the World Cup, may get a chance to start from the first minute, as well as, Julian Draxler and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who should replace Manuel Neuer between the posts.