Griezmann brace condemns Germany to another loss

France 2-1 Germany — Stade de France, Paris
(Griezmann 62' 80' pen., — Kroos 14' pen. )

It was a gamble that nearly worked. With his job under more pressure than it has ever been, Joachim Löw made five changes to the team beaten 3-0 by the Netherlands, injecting pace in to a side that has looked pedestrian for some time.

If this many alterations from the most stubborn and loyal of international coaches surprised those watching, it looked also to have caught out the world champions. Germany dominated the opening 45 minutes, with Leroy Sane, Timo Werner and Serge Gnabry posing France a different set of questions than they might have expected.

But it was an old hand that gave them the lead, with a little help from Sane and the referee. Toni Kroos just about converted his spot kick after Presnel Kimpembe had been harshly adjudged to have handled Sane's cross. It was Germany's first competitive goal since the same man scored from a free kick against Sweden to offer Germany a World Cup hope that was soon to be extinguished.

The 2014 world champions also failed to keep the flame burning on Tuesday, but France are world champions for a reason and came out for the second period a much more focused side.

Kylian Mbappe caused Germany all manner of problems but it was Antoine Griezmann who stole the show. First the Atletico Madrid man used the pace on a Lucas Hernandez cross to loop an exceptional header past the dive of Manuel Neuer from 15 yards, then he sent the Germany keeper the wrong way after Mats Hummels brought down Blaise Matuidi. Again, the penalty was debatable.

While Löw will find it easier to pick out the positives than he has of late, he came in to the match knowing that anything other than victory would keep the speculation over his job bubbling along. 

But positives are not the same as points. Should Germany fail to pick up three of those against the Netherlands in November, they will be officially consigned to the ranks of Europe's also-rans. If the Dutch beat the French before that happens, relegation will be confirmed even earlier. In either circumstance, Löw's position would surely edge ever closer to untenable.

 

As it happened

FULL TIME: That's it. A better performance but another loss for Germany. Well have a match report along here any minute.

90+4 - CHANCE! Should Hummels do better here? It looked like Kroos' delivery was on his head, but he only grazed it. 

90+3 - Germany have a free kick in an advanced position wide on the left.

90+1 - There will be three minutes off injury time. In the first of those, Griezmann is given a standing ovation as he's replaced by Ndombele.

90' - A quick corner almost catches France out but Germany are equally slow to react. Moments later, Brandt hurls a long throw in to the box but it comes to nothing.

88' - Kroos dinks a straight free kick in the direction of Hummels. It looks like a waste but replays show Giroud was pulling the defender back. Perhaps not enought to be a definite penalty but.... Meanwhile, Müller replaces Gnabry in a Bayern for Bayern swap and Dembele forces Neuer in to a smart stop. 

86' - Mbappe applauds the crowd in his home city as he's replaced by Ousmane Dembele.

85' - Have Germany got enough confidence to make a go of this?

83' - Löw makes an attacking change, as you'd expect, bringing on Brandt for Ginter.

80' - Griezmann beats Neuer to make it two for him and two for his country. Mbappe slipped in Matuidi who looks to have just beaten Hummels to the ball before hitting the deck. The hosts have been a different side in the second half.

80' - GOAL! France 2 -1 Germany (Griezmann)

80' - PENALTY TO FRANCE!

79' - Pogba has a pop from distance but it deflects off a teammate and loops over the bar.

76' - A calming spell of possession from Germany, who needed to just regain some control. Löw blinks first of the two coaches, replacing Sane, who has been threatening but wasteful, with Draxler.

72' - End to end now. First Griezmann is inches away from slipping Mbappe in then Kroos feeds Werner, whose shot is blocked.

69' - Kimpembe initially does very well then gives the ball away near his own box. Germany work it to Gnabry, who powers a decent effort with his left - but Lloris beats it away. At the other end Hernandez again gets space on the left but Süle cuts this one out ahead of Giroud. This one is really heating up now.

66 - Sane is wasteful again. First he falls over after dwelling on it too long on the edge of the box, then he allows Hernandez to nick it off his toe. I suspect we'll see Brandt before too long.

62' - This is some header. Pogba invited Hernandez to whip one in from the left. The full back obliged and put plenty on it. But Griezmann was still 15 yards out and directed a brilliant header from left to right and in to the top corner. That one has been coming.

62' - GOAL! France 1 - 1 Germany (Griezmann)

60' - Gnabry, head down, jinks his way in to the box and hits a hopeful shot that's deflected away for a corner. That's eventually cleared and Mbappe drives down the right but Schulz stays with him and does well to concede only a corner.

57' - Mbappe picks the pocket of Kehrer - whose been less assured than Schulz on the other side - and the Frenchman is then brought down by his club teammate. Mbappe wastes the freekick but he's really starting to influence the game.

55' - Schulz, who's had an excellent game so far, overlaps again on the left. He picks out Sane but again his effort is poor. Sane has found space really well but he's just not been able to find the right touch at the right moment.

53' - There he goes again. Hernandez' pass finds its way to Mbappe. He streaks past Süle but Neuer is out quickly to narrow the angle and Mbappe can't quite slide it past him.

51' - Mbappe gives Ginter a five yard headstart in a 9 yard race and nearly beats him. The Frenchman's acceleration is stunning, no matter how many times you see it.

49' - After Hernadez has an effort blocked, the resulting corner is worked cleverly from Griezmann to Matuidi, whose effort is scuffed.

47' - A confident start from Germany and Lloris has to react quickly to cut out a through ball from Gnabry to Werner.

46' - And we're off again!

HALF TIME: That's it for the first 45. And it's been an encouraging one for Joachim Löw's side. Though the penalty looked a soft one, Germany have looked dangerous on the break and would surely have been 2-0 up had Leroy Sane picked out Timo Werner when the pair were 2 on 1. France have been underwhelming but have shown glimpses of getting back in to the game. IT'S set up very nicely.

45' - Mbappe almost beats Neuer to a through ball before Hernandez bursts down the left and drives low to Giroud. But the striker's run has taken him beyond the front post and he can't hit the target. France turning up the heat a touch as we approach the break.

42' - Now Mbappe, who's been the man most likely for France, wins a freekick off Kimmich. After a false start which ended up well wide, Pogba blasts in to the wall. I don't think Neuer has made a save yet.

39' - Mbappe and Giroud combine but the youngster is denied just in time.

38' - Much of Germany'S attacking has come down the left this half but now Kehrer and Gnabry probe down the other side before opting to keep possession.

34' - Kroos finds Schulz on the charge down the left and the Hoffenheim man cuts it back to Sane. The shot is blocked and is easy for Lloris.

33' - Kroos is bossing it out there.

31' - Sane gets away again but can't use it. In a subversion of the script, Germany are looking very dangerous on the break. Who'd have thought a bit of attacking pace would help this team?

29' - Kehrer is very late on Hernandez but gets away without being booked. Griezmann lifts in the free kick from the left and it's cleared to Pavard. The crowd sense a World Cup repeat but the shot is blocked. Ginter is then booked for a cynical tackle on Griezmann as France start to get back in to it.

25' - Another chance goes begging for Germany. Hummels gets a flick on a corner and the ball eventually falls to Ginter. Lloris is already on the ground but Ginter's effort is off-balance and tame and the French keeper claws it away.

22' - Pogba is all over the place, and not in a good way. He clatters Kimmich in the middle of the park for no good reason and is lucky to avoid a booking. France looking pretty ragged here.

20' - That really should be two for Germany. France committed numbers forward but Pogba's cross was cleared to Kimmich. Brilliant feet and a brilliant pass put Sane in a 2 on 1 with Werner in support. But Sane's simple square ball is really, really poor and it allows Lloris to get a touch. Werner is almost in again seconds later, as Kante gives it away.

18' - So far we seem to have the Manchester United Paul Pogba rather than the international version. 

15' - It must be said that looked a soft penalty. Kimmich robbed Pogba and fed Sane. The winger drove down the right and clipped a cross back. As Kimpembe slid to try and block it, the ball hit his trailing arm and went out of play. The Frenchamn didn't seem to know much about it and there were no German appeals. Lloris got a hand to Kroos' spot kick but it crept in the corner. 

14' - GOAL! France 0 - 1 Germany (Kroos pen 14)

13' - PENALTY TO GERMANY!

11' - Now a warning sign for the hosts. Gnabry and Werner combined on the left and as the former poked it across goal, the retreating Kante got a foot to it. Lloris wasn't sure whether it'd count as a backpass and stabbed it clear a little awkwardly.

9' - Huge roars as Mbappe flies down the right. The prodigal son plays a long-range one-two with Griezmann and Hummels is in big trouble. Mbappe stands him up, beats him and whips in a low cross but Süle clears. Seconds later Hummels is on hand to nick one off Griezmann's toe in the box. That all came from a counter-attack, warning signs for the visitors.

6' - Kroos rolls in Sane down the left and the Manchester City man stands one up to the back post, but Varane backpedals to nod it away. 

4' - Greizmann has the first (optimistic) shot of the game after some lovely hold-up play from Giroud. It flies miles wide.

3' - Both Sane and Kimmich are robbed of the ball early on but nothing comes of it. Germany seem to be playing a 4-3-3 or perhaps 4-4-2, with Ginter in midfield, Kehrer at right back and Gnabry and/or Sane tasked with supporting Werner.

1' - And we're off! Germany get the ball rolling.

20:40 - Kimpembe for the injured Umtiti is the only change from the France side who took Germany’s World Cup three months ago. Griezmann and Mbappe will surely pose an enormous test for Schulz and Kehrer (or Ginter) in the wide areas. Schulz and Kehrer have just 108 minutes of international football between them.

20:35 - Löw’s rolled the dice tonight, it felt like he really had to after Saturday. It’s difficult to tell exactly what formation he’s gone for but with six players who play in a backline for their clubs, it seems reasonable to expect five of them to play at the back. But the versatility of Ginter, Kehrer and Kimmich means it’s worth keeping a keen eye on the shape.

Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry should at least add some pace to a side who’ve looked pedestrian far too often of late. It may be a forced gamble but it’s a gamble all the same from Löw.

20:30 - Good Evening, and welcome to the latest episode of the Germany saga. Nearly four months after South Korea confirmed their exit from the World Cup, not a great deal seems to have changed for the 2014 world champions.

Joachim Löw is still under pressure, many of the old guard are also feeling the spotlight shine upon them and there are still questions over Germany's style of play, best XI and ability to score goals. While the defensive issues have been laid bare of late, Germany have failed to find the net in four of their last five competitive games - one of which was the goalless draw with tonight's opponents in Munich in September.

That was the most encouraging performance from some time from Löw's men and he'll be hoping they at least match it tonight. The 58-year-old has rung the changes, heeding calls for fresh legs. Thilo Kehrer makes his first start in what looks like a five man defense. Niklas Süle and Matthias Ginter also start at the back while Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry will all be expected to provide some width and invention. There's still no room for Julian Brandt.

Will it be enough against a typically strong-looking French side? We'll find out shortly.