France secured third place in the Nations League on Sunday evening in Stuttgart, dispatching Germany 2–0 thanks to a goal and an assist from captain Kylian Mbappé, who rediscovered his scoring touch and silenced recent criticism with an influential display.
The contest, played before a capacity crowd and featuring much-rotated line-ups, began with Germany on the front foot.
Julian Nagelsmann’s men fashioned a string of promising chances in the opening half: Karim Adeyemi saw a penalty award overturned by VAR for simulation, and Florian Wirtz rattled the post. Yet for all their pressure the hosts lacked a cutting edge, and France punished them on the stroke of half-time.
A looping pass drifted over Joshua Kimmich, fell invitingly for Mbappé, and the Real Madrid forward took one touch before rifling home with his right foot to notch his fiftieth international goal and his first from open play in more than a year.
Didier Deschamps had admitted beforehand that the bronze-medal fixture against an old rival was hardly the pinnacle of France’s ambitions, but the coach still demanded a reaction after the semi-final defeat to Spain and rang the changes—only Mbappé, goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielder Adrien Rabiot retained their places.
Germany, meanwhile, also fielded a reshuffled side that included Niclas Füllkrug up front, though the striker later lamented missed opportunities, remarking that an early breakthrough might have produced “three or four” goals for the hosts.
After the interval Nagelsmann replaced rookie centre-forward Nick Woltemade with Deniz Undav, who thought he had levelled almost immediately, only to see his finish ruled out for a foul in the buildup. Germany dominated possession for long spells, but their territorial advantage left them exposed to France’s lightning counters.
Marcus Thuram struck the post on fifty-eight minutes before Mbappé provided the decisive moment late on. Pouncing on a wayward Robin Koch pass near the halfway line, he surged forward and, inside the area, unselfishly squared for Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise to tap in with six minutes left.
The assist capped a vibrant performance from the French talisman, who afterwards reminded DAZN viewers that critics have always found fault with him and that he is “OK with that” while he concentrates on “doing my job.” Real Madrid and Les Bleus teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni praised Mbappé’s influence, describing him as “very important” and “amazing” when in this form.
For Germany, back-to-back defeats will revive questions about how much tangible progress has been made under their new coach. The loss also ended a run stretching back to 2023 without successive setbacks. France, by contrast, leave the tournament having taken some solace from a polished win, even if Deschamps still shuffles options with next year’s World Cup firmly on the horizon.
What you should know
France defeated Germany 2–0 in the Nations League third-place play-off; Kylian Mbappé ended his year-long open-play drought for the national team with his fiftieth goal and later set up Michael Olise’s clincher; both managers rotated heavily, yet Germany squandered several first-half chances and twice struck the frame of the goal; the result hands France bronze and leaves Germany searching for answers ahead of future qualifying campaigns.
