France secured third place in the Nations League in Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon. ‘Les Bleus’ won the consolation final against host Germany 0-2 thanks to Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise.
The VAR and the woodwork both played a significant role in the consolation final. In the first half, Germany appeared to be awarded a penalty after a fall by Karim Adeyemi, but referee Ivan Kruzliak was called to the screen. After reviewing the footage, the Slovakian instead gave Adeyemi a yellow card for a dive.
Early in the second half, Kruzliak had to review another moment after Deniz Undav appeared to equalize for Germany at 1-1. However, that goal was disallowed because Niclas Füllkrug had fouled Adrien Rabiot.
In addition, both teams hit the post once. Florian Wirtz did so in the first half for ‘Die Mannschaft’, while French forward Marcus Thuram was unlucky after the break.
Mbappé Approaching Henry and Giroud
The only goal of the first half came in the final stages, after exactly 45 minutes of play. Mbappé skillfully created space for himself in the penalty area and fired the ball past Marc-André ter Stegen. It was his fiftieth goal for the national team. Only Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (57) have more international goals for France.
Goalkeeper Ter Stegen kept the home team in the game with a couple of great saves, but France extended their lead in the final stages. Mbappé was allowed to cross half the field after a counter and passed the ball to Olise, who scored the 0-2.
Coach Didier Deschamps, who will leave after the 2026 World Cup, can add a bronze Nations League medal to his well-filled trophy cabinet. In 2021, he had already won the tournament with France. Host Germany falls outside the podium in this edition.
Earlier this week, Germany lost 1-2 to Portugal in the semi-final. France had to swallow a sensational 5-4 defeat against Spain. Portugal and Spain will play the Iberian final in Munich on Sunday evening at 9:00 PM.