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 goalposts played a significant role in the consolation final. Before halftime, Germany seemed to be awarded a penalty after Karim Adeyemi fell, 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 seemed to equalize for Germany. But 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 attacker Marcus Thuram was unlucky after halftime.
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Mbappé scores goal number 50 for France
The only goal in 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 shot the ball past Marc-André ter Stegen. It was his fiftieth goal for the national team. Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (57) are the only Frenchmen with more international goals.
Goalkeeper Ter Stegen kept the home team in the game with a few good saves, but France still extended their lead in the final stages. Mbappé was allowed to cross half the field after a counter-attack and gifted the 0-2 to Olise, who had joined him.
Head coach Didier Deschamps can add a bronze Nations League medal to his well-filled trophy cabinet. He already won the tournament with France in 2021. Host Germany finishes outside the podium in this edition.
Earlier this week, Germany lost 1-2 to Portugal in the semi-final. France suffered a sensational 5-4 defeat against Spain. Portugal and Spain will play the Iberian final in Munich on Sunday evening at 9:00 PM.