Germany put a year of turmoil behind them with a statement 2-0 victory against France on Saturday night.
Their looming European Championships on home soil has been disrupted to this point by a startlingly bad run of form and a change of manager, with Julian Nagelsmann taking over from fellow ex-Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick in the autumn.
But they ran out winners at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon, away at a France side tipped by many to be the favourites for Euro 2024.
Germany got off to the best possible start with the opening goal just seven seconds into the contest. From kick-off, Toni Kroos – making his first appearance since coming out of international retirement – found Florian Wirtz via a direct through ball, and the Bayer Leverkusen man caught goalkeeper Brice Samba flat-footed with a sensational 25-yard strike.
Kai Havertz, who helped make the opener with a run which dragged away the attention of France’s defenders, doubled Germany’s lead shortly after half-time, tapping home after Wirtz’s long ball was brought down expertly by Jamal Musiala and then squared back across goal.
Kylian Mbappe played the full 90 minutes but was unable to make much of an impact as France fell to a worrying defeat in front of a boisterous home crowd. Les Bleus will face Chile on Tuesday to cap off this international window, while they will take on Austria, Netherlands and either Wales or Poland in the group stages of Euro 2024.
Germany, meanwhile, open the tournament against Scotland before facing Hungary and Switzerland. The DFB are hoping to tie Nagelsmann down to a new contract prior to the start of the tournament amid interest in his services from the likes of Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.
EURO 2024 – WHEN, WHERE, THE FAVOURITES AND PREDICTING WHO WILL WIN
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