UEFA Nations League: 5 things we learnt from Germany vs France

International break - the two words club managers dread the most. However, it is a chance for players to don their national colours and gain some pride as they represent their various countries. Previously, international friendlies did not mean much as coaches used the opportunity to test tactics and also give the fringe players the platform to make a name for themselves. As a result, there has been a change.

The lack of competition saw the old system scrapped and now we have a new system which looks more beckoning. UEFA in a bid to make international friendlies more competitive has introduced a UEFA Nations League. A league with some form of reward for the winners (a trophy and bragging rights) and semi-finalists (a play-off route to Euro 2020 in case they do not qualify conventionally).

If it was a competition that UEFA cried out for then the first set of matches of the UEFA Nations League must have dried their tears. We witnessed some mouth-watering clashes and the Germany vs France game was no short of a classic with both teams sizing up each other. Although the game ended in a goalless stalemate, here are five things that we learned.

#5 World Cup winner’s curse continues

Surprisingly, none of the previous six winners of the World Cup have won their first game after they win the title.

2018 - France drew with Germany (0-0)

2014 - Germany lost to Argentina (2-4)

2010 - Spain drew with Mexico (1-1)

2006 - Italy lost to Croatia (0-2)

2002 - Brazil lost to Paraguay (0-1)

1998 - France drew with Austria (1-1)

This makes it a record of 3 draws and 3 losses. Hopefully, the next World Cup winner in 2022 can finally break this curse and win their first game after winning the title.

#4 Germany rehabilitation may take longer than expected

Going into their final group game, the odds were against Germany. They needed Mexico to suffer a huge collapse and of course, they needed to win their final match against South Korea. El Tri upheld their end of the bargain, falling 3-0 to Sweden, but Germany was unable to beat South Korea, losing 2-0 and crashing out of the group stages at the bottom of the pile in Group F. The defeat drowned Germany's hope of a back-to-back World Cup title even before they got any real traction.

Despite the devastating group stage exit, Joachim Low was retained as Germany coach. The president of the German Football Association, Reinhard Grindel was adamant that Joachim Low is the right man to lead a much-needed transition in the national team.

"We believe there will be a transition that will take place after the World Cup, regardless of the outcome of the tournament, and no one is better equipped to handle that than Jogi Low. He proved a year ago at the Confederations Cup that he can make young players into an impressive team who play outstanding football. That is still valid, as far as we are concerned."

Despite the draw with Germany, Low was still delighted with the results as he believed it was a step in a positive direction. Throughout the World Cup, Germany lacked balanced in the team. The team over-committed men forward and left gaps at the back which were exploited by Mexico and South Korea. Joachim Low's first order of business was to help restore some solidity in the team's setup and he was successful as Germany secured their first clean sheet in 9 games. The German coach believes that with time, his team will get back to the top.

"It would be naive to believe that one match has erased everything from the World Cup. It's a long process, we can only rehabilitate ourselves at the next tournament."

#3 Giroud is really not in this squad to score goals

Throughout the World Cup, French striker Olivier Giroud did not manage a goal in 7 matches. A more alarming statistic is the fact that the target forward did not play a single shot on target in the tournament. This attracted a lot of criticisms as most fans questioned Giroud's place in the team since the primary role of a striker is to score goals.

Giroud hasn't scored a goal in his last 17 matches for club and country

Deschamps kept faith in the Chelsea forward during the World Cup and he doesn't look like he will be dropping him anytime soon. Giroud once again started against Germany and at least he has made some improvement as he managed to play a shot on target this time around. Hopefully, this will open the door to more goals for Giroud who has suffered a tough spell of playing 17 games for club and country without a goal.

#2 Kylian Mbappe is here to stay

The teenager was mesmerising to watch on the night as he oozed with confidence

What a year it has been for the teenager! Winning a domestic treble with Paris St Germain and crowning it all off with a World Cup trophy. Mbappe has been nothing short of scintillating since he joined the national team setup.

An extraordinary World Cup campaign saw him become the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele and he capped off a wonderful tournament by winning the Young Player of the tournament award.

Against Germany, he was breathtaking as he constantly looked like a threat to the French team. He is the type of teenager who has got composure beyond his years. The ease with which he went by the German players made him look like a sports car in attack. His first touch on the ball demonstrated that he has so much awareness to spare. It's unfortunate he didn't score a goal but if France were to have scored a goal on the night, it would have definitely been him.

#1 Lloris may struggle to get back into the lineup

Areola was impressive for France on his debut as he rescued a draw for Les Bleus

Being a third keeper in a squad is essentially a formality as they usually never get the chance to show what they are capable of. Areola is most likely still counting his lucky stars as he was handed his debut by virtue of injuries to Lloris and Mandanda.

Alphonse Areola became the first player in the French team's history to play his first game with Les Bleus after winning the World Cup. This ultimately means that before the match against Germany, Areola had more World Cup medals than national team appearances.

Making your debut against a German side looking to bury their past woes was always going to be a frightening task. However, the PSG shot-stopper didn't shy away and put up an inspiring performance to earn Les Bleus a draw on the night.

Areola made a statement by making 6 saves against Germany - no French national team goalkeeper has done better in the last 10 years. With such a performance, we may be seeing Areola more often henceforth.