Welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the EURO 2020 France vs Germany clash as Joachim Low's side takes on Didier Deschamps' world champions at the Allianz Arena.
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France begins its Euro 2020 campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Germany. Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema had goals disallowed and Adrien Rabiot struck the post, but Mats Hummels' own goal is what made the difference.
MATCH REPORT|
The Germans showed renewed purpose and vigour in the second half a first half after a fairly subdued opening 45, but could not find a way past French 'keeper Lloris. They had only one shot on target and have lost the opening game of a European Championship campaign for the first time in their history. France will next take on Hungary on June 19, while Germany will face Portugal on the same day.
That brings us to the end of our coverage for the day. You can go through our entire Euro 2020 coverage, complete with quizzes, FAQs, all 24 squad lists, and more here . Thanks for tuning in!
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90+9' FULL-TIME! The referee played three additional minutes over the stipulated six, but it still wasn't enough for Germany to find the elusive equaliser. It ends 1-0 in France's favour, courtesy of Mats Hummels' own goal in the 20th minute.
90+6' Sane makes a surging run and feeds it to Volland on the left. Volland, who came on seven minutes ago, fires a cross but it's too strong and opportunity slips away. That surely has to be the game.
90+5' Late change for France as Rabiot finally goes off to be replaced by Ousmane Dembele.
90+3' The Germans are throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at the French defence. Low is throwing men ahead in search of a last-gasp equaliser.
90+1' Rabiot seems to have picked up some sort of injury, which appears to be a time-wasting tactic, much to the ire of the Germans.
90' The fourth official has signalled for six minutes of added time to be played.
89' First change of the evening for France as Benzema, who is making his return to the national team after seven years, makes way for Corentin Tolisso.
88' Sane takes a free-kick from a promising position but fails to find the target.
88' Low makes two more changes as Kevin Volland and Emre Can replace Gosens and Ginter respectively.
85'
BENZEMAAAAAAAAA! 2-0 to FRANCE! Pogba releases Mbappe down the right and he lays it on a plate for Benzema, who coolly slots it home. The goal is disallowed as Mbappe was offside in the build up. That's the second time France has been denied a goal today because Mbappe was in an offside position!
82' France and Germany are grouped alongside Portugal and Hungary in what is labelled as the group of death. The Germans will find themselves in a sticky spot in their next game against Portugal if they fail to take a point from this game. Portugal barely got past Hungary as the scoreline remained 0-0 until the 83rd minute, after which the defending champion scored three quick goals to secure the win.
80' Mbappe now tears down the right and streaks past Rudiger like he were invisible! Griezmann at the far post wants the cross but Mbappe's cross fails to carry.
78' What a chance for Mbappe! The French attack on the counter an Mbappe is released down the centre. Hummels had at least 10 yards on him but Mbappe beat him to the ball and bombed into the box before the German veteran made amends with a well-timed last-ditch tackle.
74' Double change for Germany - Timo Werner replaces Gnabry, while Leroy Sane comes on for Havertz. Ginters is feeling okay and will continue.
72' Ginters seems to have hurt his knee. He vies for the ball with Mbappe and appears to taken a knock to his knee in the process. Emre Can has booted up and is ready to come on.
70' Griezmann has also had a great game. An absolute workhorse, he has tracked back each time his side lost the ball and has effectively helped the defence.
68' What a special player Mbappe is. He shows terrific footwork to hoodwink the defenders and then coolly curls it into the back of the net past Neuer, only to be ruled offside. The youngster has looked threatening in phases today.
67' MBAPPPPPPPPE! He does phenomenally well to dance his way past two defenders and curls it into the far corner, but his goal is disallowed as he was in an offside position.
65' Benzema has a rare chance and lets one rip...but it's defelected away by a defender.
63' STAT: France, the defending world champion, can become the first country to hold the world and European titles at the same time twice.
60' The Germans have looked a sprightly bunch in the second half. Lloris has been kept on his toes and the French have been forced to sit back and defend. And exciting half hour of play awaits!
59' Kimmich whips in a peach of a cross from the left and Lloris is beaten by the flight. Gosens attacks the at the far post but ends up clattering with Pavard in the process by striking him in the head with his knee. Pavard, thankfully, seems fine and is fit to continue.
57' It's Lloris vs Gnabry again and th French captain races off his line to clear the danger. Germany has come out all guns blazing!
54' Gnabry with a chance at the other end! A cross from the left lands kindly for him, but he chooses to side-foot it instead of striking it with hes laces. The ball bounce off the grass and loops into the top of the net.
'52' HOW CLOSE WAS THAT! Rabiot receives a fantastic outside-of-the-boot pass from Mbappe and bombs towards the goal. He has an option to square it for Griezmann but decides to squeeze the ball into the bottom corner, but is denied by the upright. Griezmann, who was waiting for a pass down the centre, is visibly frustrated.
48' Germany did not have a single attempt on target in the first half!
47' Mbappe races down the left and runs at Hummels, who struggles to keep up with the 22-year-old. Hummels manages to find his footing and forces Mbappe to retreat.
46' KICK-OFF! The second half gets underway. No changes for either team.
An intense opening half comes to an end with France in the driver's seat. Germany started strong and had a lion's share of possession, but struggled to trouble France 'keeper and captain Lloris. The France defence was shaky in parts as it gave away multiple free-kicks around the box, but the Germans failed to capitalise on their chances.
45'HALF-TIME! Hummels' own goal in the 20th minute is all that separates the two sides as France heads into the interval with a slender 1-0 lead.
44' Did Rudiger just bite Pogba?!?!?!?! He appears to bite Pogba's back but the ref does not notice it. Pogba is furious and remonstrating, but to no effect.
43' Deschamps will be mighty pleased with his sides performance so far. The French have cleverly combined quick quick short passes with the occasional diagonal ball to carve out openings in this German backline.
40' Hernandez goes down in a heap after tussling for the ball with his Bayern Munich teammate Kimmich. The German was being pulled back by Hernandez and struck him with a stray leg on his way down, but there was no malicious intent there. Kimmich has to be careful here nevertheless, there's only so many chances the ref is going to award him.
38' CHANCE FOR GUNDOGAN! Gnabry does extremely well to keep the ball in play with an overhead pass. It lands on the bounce for Gundogan, who attempts a half-volley, but fails to trouble Lloris. That was a fine chance for the Germans.
36' Mbappe is almost unplayable when he gets going! He skips past a couple of challenges and zooms into the final third and wins his side a corner. The 22-year-old scored a whopping 42 goals across competitions for PSG this season.
33' Germany has more than 60 per cent of the ball, but it's France that's doing the attacking now. The French attacking trio of Mbappe, Benzema and Griezmann has been well supported by the likes of Pogba, Varane and Pavard so far.
30' Kimmich makes a spirited run down the right flank as he dodges his way past Kante and tried to evade Kimpempe as he storms towards the byline. Kimpempe appears to get the last touch as the ball rolls out of play, but the ref awards a goal-kick. Kimmich is furious but cannot protest much because he's already on a yellow card.
27' Kroos beats the wall this time and goes for goal, but it's nowhere near the target.
27' France concedes another free-kick as Pogba clips Muller's ankle. Kroos will step up to take this one too.
25' The chance goes begging as Kroos fails to get his free-kick past the French wall.
24' Free-kick from a dangerous position for Germany. Kante brings Gundogan down right at the edge of the box and Kroos looks likely to take it.
23' Muller nearly equalises! Germany comes back strong as Gosens curls the ball into the box but Muller's header can't find th target.
21' Neuer had no chance there. Pogba plays a delightful long ball towards the far post for Hernandez, who drills it into the box. Hummels knew he had Mbappe snapping at his heels and tried to clear the danger, but instead turned it into his own net past a hapless Neuer.
20' FRANCE TAKES THE LEAD! Hummels knocks Hernandez's cross into his own net and the Les Blues take the lead.
18' Neuer forced into action! Mbappe storms to the edge of the box and unleashes a ferocious right-footed strike. Neuer, making his 100th start for Germany, dives to his left to parry it away.
16' CLOSE! Pogba's header from Griezmann's corner sails over the crossbar. Kante and Pavard combine extremely well on the right and Pavard drills a low cross that is cleared by Ginter.
14' Benzema does oh-so-well to control an aerial ball and feeds it to Mbappe at the edge of the box. Mbappe exchanges a couple more passes with Benzema and attempts to weave his way into the box but runs into a wall in the shape of Kroos. Mbappe wants a free kick, but he's not going to get one.
11' The German's are settling into a rhythm now. Low's side has seen more of the ball and the front three of Gnabry, Havertz and Muller has looked sharp. France has made a couple of forays into the attacking third, but there's been no real chance as yet.
9' We've got three players on the pitch today who were part of the Chelsea side that won the Champions League last month. Germany's Havertz scored the title-winning goal, while Rudiger was instrumental in defence. France's Kante was indispensable in the victory, as he is to this French side today.
7' First yellow card of the match and Kimmich goes into the ref's book as he clatters into Havertz. This is going to make it a very tricky affair for the Germans, who will have to cautiously neutralise the pacy French attack.
4' First free-kick of the game as Kroos floats the ball in and finds Hummels in the box, but the latter's header floats above the woodwork.
3' No changes in the Germany starting XI from the side that beat Latvia 7-1 last week. Gosens had scored his first international goal in that game.
1' KICK OFF! Germany in all whites, attacking from right to left.
12:25am: Five minutes to kick off! Sit back and enjoy, for this promises to be a cracker of a contest.
12:10am: Cristiano Ronaldo struck a quickfire brace to become the leading goalscorer in the history of the European Championship as Portugal beat Hungary 3-0 to get its Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start. More on that here -
12am: This evening's Germany vs France game is a repeat of the Euro 2016 semifinal, which France won 2-0. The win came two years after Germany had ousted the Les Blues in the last eight of the FIFA World Cup. How do you think today's game is going to play out?
11:50pm: Here's a look at France's training session ahead of the Euro 2020 encounter against Germany -
11:40: No major surprises in the starting line-ups named by the two managers. Olivier Giroud, who has been having a tiff with Mbappe , finds himself on the France bench while Timo Werner does not make it to the Germany XI.
France will start with a formidable frontine of Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe for the first time in a competitive match. Deschamps, whose side is unbeaten in its last 16 competitive outings, also opted for midfielder Adrien Rabiot instead of Corentin Tolisso.
Germany coach Low, in his last tournament in charge after 15 years at the helm, has opted for a 3-4-3 formation with Thomas Muller in a forward role and Kai Havertz and Serge Gnabry on the wings. A three-man backline is reinforced by holding midfielders Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens.
11:30pm: TEAM NEWS!
France starting XI: Hugo Lloris; Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpempe, Lucas Hernandez; N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, Antoine Griezman, Kylian Mbappe; Karim Benzema
Germany starting XI: Manuel Neuer; Matthias Ginter, Mats Hummels, Antonio Ruediger; Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos, Robin Gosens, Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz; Thomas Mueller.
11:25pm: Team news in five minutes! How do you think the two sides will line-up?
11:16pm: Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo has just become the top goal-scorer in the Euro Cup's history! He scores twice for defending champion Portugal to help his side to a comfortable 3-0 win over Hungary. More on his record here -
11:10pm: France captain Hugo Lloris says he expects a difficult first match against the Germans -
11pm: Here's a stat to ponder over - Germany has never lost its opening group match at the Euro Cup. The Die Mannschaft have won five and drawn as many and have won each of their last three opening games without conceding a goal!
10:50pm: France coach Didier Deschamps said it is not just his own side's attacking threat that can cause problems as he prepares to take on Germany at Euro 2020 in Munich on Tuesday. Much has been made of the firepower Deschamps has at his disposal ahead of France's Euro 2020 opener against Germany, with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema back in the squad and set to line up alongside Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann in attack.
But Deschamps, who is looking to become the first person ever to win the World Cup and European Championships as player and manager this summer, said Germany has plenty of attacking options to worry his side's defence, too -
10:40pm: Here are Germany and France's complete Euro 2020 squads -
Germany faces daunting task against France
Germany will have no time to soak up the atmosphere in front of a home crowd at the Euros when it hosts world champion France in Munich on Tuesday, with coach Joachim Loew's untested team facing the tournament favourites in its Group F opener.
Germany's shock first round exit from the 2018 World Cup triggered an overhaul of the team. But in his final tournament before stepping down after 15 years, Loew has recalled some of the players he had axed after the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the overhauled squad failed to get the desired results.
With 2014 world champions Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels back in the squad after more than two years, Germany will be considered as the underdog when its largely untested line-up face its powerful neighbour.
What Germany will need to do first is lock down its defence against a formidable French frontline, arguably the best in the world at the moment.
With European champion Portugal awaiting next in its group before their final game against Hungary, avoiding defeat could prove decisive for Germany in its 'group of death'.
"France would not have become world champions if they did not have top defenders," said Germany forward Timo Werner.
"Players who go into the one-on-ones like N'Golo Kante or Benjamin Pavard. There is a reason why they are tournament favourites.
"And then in attack the trio with (Kylian) Mbappe, (Antoine) Griezmann and (Karim) Benzema is just world class. When you have players like that in a team then it is just outstanding."
Benzema has recovered from a minor injury sustained in a friendly win over Bulgaria on Tuesday and is fit for their opener.
The Germans, who will have the support of up to 14,000 spectators, will most likely play a three-man backline with Hummels in the centre, while holding midfielders Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich will add further safety.
"We have to see what is good for us, what we need and what our strengths are," said Germany assistant coach Marcus Sorg. "Secondly we have to see how we can take the strengths of the French team out of the game.
"We have to try , even against France to put our own strengths onto the pitch."
What the Germans are unlikely to have is an out-and-out forward with Mueller set to operate in that role with Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz on either side.
"At the end of the day it can be one single situation that could secure success for the team," Sorg said. "That is why it is worth putting in the work, and our players have understood that."
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