Thomas Fenton’s France v Germany preview: lack of pace in defence could be exposed in Munich
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Our Matchday Squad journalist will be covering Germany throughout Euro 2020
Germany have the unenviable task of starting their Euro 2020 campaign against the pre-tournament favourites – who just so happened to knock Joachim Low’s men out of the very same competition five year’s prior.
While Die Mannschaft impressed in a recent 7-1 win over Latvia, they do head into Tuesday’s match against France with a couple of fresh injury concerns. RB Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann, and Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka are both unlikely to feature for Germany in the Group F opener.
In spite of these losses, if Low’s men can use the ball effectively, and can make the very most of home advantage at the Allianz Arena, a win could well be on the cards. However, as last year’s 6-0 pasting at the hands of Spain demonstrates, Germany cannot afford to be hit on the counter with regularity; as slower defenders like Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule could struggle against Kylian Mbappe & co.
France may have form on their side, but this could be a game in which both sets of players are simply determined to avoid getting beat so early into the tournament. With the third placed finisher in Group F likely to advance to the last 16, don’t expect either team to go all out for the win. I predict Germany to earn a morale-boosting draw.
