TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Germany with questions to answer ahead of France clash at Euro 2020
Change Size
W
orld champion France opens their Euro 2020 campaign on Tuesday against an embattled Germany team eager to rediscover its best form in the first clash of two traditional European heavyweights in this year's tournament.
Didier Deschamps' France head to Munich for the Group F game with a feud brewing between forwards Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud but are still the title favorites, while the Germans are struggling and under pressure.
After 15 years in charge, German coach Joachim Loew will step down after the European Championship and wants to forge a mentality "like 2014" when his squad "pulled together" to win the World Cup.
The French need no reminding of Brazil, where the team bowed out in the quarterfinals when a Mats Hummels header sealed victory for Germany at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The French got its revenge when Antoine Griezmann scored both goals in a 2-0 semifinal win at Euro 2016 before the host lost to Portugal in the final.
France won the last meeting between the neighboring countries in 2018 when Griezmann again scored both goals to seal a 2-1 Nations League win in Paris.
Germany faces a tough start to Euro 2020, with a match against holder Portugal four days after the France game before finishing its group campaign against Hungary.
Tension is already bubbling in the French squad after Giroud, who scored twice off the bench in a 3-0 friendly warm-up win over Bulgaria, complained about the passes he received, which Mbappe took to heart.
It promises to be a heated match after Chelsea defender Antonio Ruediger admitted Germany may need to be a "little dirty" to counter the French attack.
"Germany have good, young players and I don't believe they are as weak as they were," said France's Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard.
Germany wary of France front three
Loew, 61, is desperate to land Germany a record fourth European title and enhance his reputation, dented after his side failed to get out of their 2018 World Cup group.
Three years after that debacle in Russia, Loew must hope his shaky defense can cope with France, who could name a fearsome front three of Mbappe, Griezmann and the re-called Karim Benzema.
The Germans are expected to play with a 3-5-2 formation in an attempt to counter France' obvious threat.
But Germany have conceded 20 goals, keeping just three clean sheets, in their last 13 matches.
Loew has assured fans that his players will wear the shirt "with pride".
"[We will] have to go through hell and be capable of suffering if we want to achieve something. We will give everything," he said.
Germany reached at least the semifinals of every major tournament from the 2006 World Cup to Euro 2016, but the last three years have been bleak.
After the World Cup disaster, the Germans finished bottom of their 2018-2019 Nations League group, were thrashed 6-0 by Spain in November 2020 and slumped to a 2-1 home defeat by minnow North Macedonia in World Cup qualifying in March.
"The blows of the last three years have left their mark," admitted center-back Hummels, who along with Thomas Mueller has been recalled after Loew reversed his 2019 decision to axe the pair.
Bayern's Joshua Kimmich says the team are seeking redemption from their own fans.
"We have only disappointed people over the last few years," he conceded. "We can't always hide and say that we have a lot of quality. Now it's up to us."
