UEFA Nations League: 3 reasons why Germany failed to score against France

In the first international fixture since the end of the World Cup and since their humiliating performance against South Korea, Germany took on World Champions France. Joachim Low and his men bowed out of Russia 2018 in stunning style, then went on to suffer various controversies with multiple stars retiring including and not limited to Mesut Ozil.

However, they battled the French and played to their potential on the first day of the debut UEFA Nations league, who unlike the four-time World Champions had a sensational time in Russia. But the Germans, who haven’t exactly had a stellar time playing football for a little over a year, somehow managed to keep their first clean sheet in over eight games.

One thing German coach Joachim Low did get right were his tactics and Die Mannschaft somehow managed to keep a stellar French side relatively quiet. Not only that, their build-up play was decent at times and they certainly tested debutant Alphonse Areola

Here are three reasons why Germany managed to hold France to a goalless draw:

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#3 A back-three works for Germany

Fans and critics made sure that the German FA and even coach Joachim Low knew that one thing was wrong with the 2014 World Champions during Russia 2018. They simply couldn’t defend against their opposition, whether it was Denmark or Mexico and of course South Korea, the Germans struggled to keep a clean sheet but that was a problem going as far back as eight games before they played France in the UEFA Nations League.

Against a French side with the likes of Antoine Greizmann, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud and so many others, Germany was always going to have a tough time defending, especially on the counter-attack.

But to counter against that, Low brought in a tried and test formation with three centre-backs making up the majority of the defence, while Joshua Kimmich and Matthias Ginter played as wing-backs.

And it worked, as Jerome Boateng, Max Hummels and Antonio Rudiger did very well, stifling any potential attack before getting Germany back on the ball again. Not only did they have that, the presence of the two wing-backs plus an occasional Rudiger, certainly helped the Germans going forward.

#2 Dominating possession but a lack of killer instinct

Germany loves to have the ball at their feet, controlling the tempo of the game even dominating the match at times. However, as many historic games have shown over the years, just because you have the ball doesn’t mean you have won the game as the Germans found out today. They dominated the ball for more than 40 minutes in the first half but struggled to make too much of an impact towards Areola’s goal.

While France did manage to make a comeback before half-time, the second half domination by the home side ensured that Germany regained possession and things continued. While they did make inroads towards Areola’s goal, it took them 64 minutes to force the PSG goalkeeper into an excellent save.

They could have benefitted from having someone with that killer pass, and as German fans at the Allianz Arena and countless others around the world realised, they lacked that killer instinct.

Germany for all their dominance failed to make an impact and struggled to find that decisive moment in the final third from anyone on the pitch, which included the likes of Toni Kroos, Marco Reus, Leon Goretzka, and Thomas Muller among many others.

Things need to change going forward especially with the air of criticism surrounding the German side. And sinking down to 18th place on the FIFA rankings is not going to make it easy.

#1 The Wall that is Alphonse Areola

Hugo Lloris injured, Steve Mandanda injured who could Didier Deschamps turn to in his hour of need against Germany. Alphonse Areola answered the call and my, oh my did the PSG star step up in a man of the match performance against the Germans in the UEFA Nations League. A sensational debut and exactly the performance Deschamps envisioned when he selected the 25-year-old against Germany.

Six saves according to Opta Jean, a feat no other French goalkeeper has done in over ten years and all that in a debut game against Germany. But while the game was relatively quiet for about 60 odd minutes, it suddenly exploded in the last half-hour or so, with the PSG man making four of his six incredible stops.

This includes a powerful Mat Hummels’ volley, an over-hit cross that was bound for the top corner and a sensational reaction save from Matthias Ginter’s header after a corner. The 25-year old showed coach Didier Deschamps that there is life after the 31 year Hugo Lloris retires and not only that he showed PSG that he is good enough to man their back-line.

A colossal figure in the French goal, if Alphonse Areola continues his run of form, he is bound to find happiness for France and add to his lone cap.