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A Rejuvenated Germany and a Strong France in a ‘Rehearsal’ for the European Cup

The strongest teams competing in the European Cup finals this summer in Germany are accelerating their preparatory journeys. Among them is the host team, which has scheduled a series of strong preparatory matches for readiness’ sake. They seek to compensate for their repeated disappointments abound since winning the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, which was the fourth time in their history.

Hence, German coach Julian Nagelsmann has made significant changes to his national team’s lineup for the two friendly matches scheduled for this month. This move comes three months before his country hosts the 2024 European Cup.

The young coach (36 years old) has made critical changes by bringing back experienced players like goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and midfielder Toni Kroos, both winners of the 2014 World Cup. Additionally, he excluded 11 players from the squad that had played in the previous window last November.

The German team will open their finals campaign against Scotland on June 14 in Munich. They will face France on the 23rd of this month and the Netherlands on the 26th in a friendly match.

The German national team won only three matches out of the 11 matches they played in 2023. They were also eliminated from the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. These results led to the dismissal of coach Hansi Flick, making him the first coach to be sacked in the national team’s history.

The absence of many stars from Nagelsmann’s new squad was notable, most prominent of which being Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Mats Hummels, and Niklas Sule. Leroy Sané was also not named due to his suspension.

On the other hand, Nagelsmann called up Deniz Undaf, Maximilian Mittelstadt, Valdemar Anton, and Chris Foresch from Stuttgart, along with Jan-Niklas Besti from newly promoted Heidenheim, Hoffenheim striker Maximilian Bayer, and lastly Bayern’s young midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic for the purpose of securing the player’s commitment to the German national team, as there were attempts by the Serbian federation to call him up.

These friendly matches hold moral significance in boosting the players’ spirits before the continental championship. Even the formidable French team will be eager to win, particularly against their arch-rivals Germany. This matchup typically carries various dimensions and intense rivalry despite its friendly nature.

Hence, “Les Bleus” coach Didier Deschamps has called up his best available players for the two friendly matches against Germany in Lyon on the 23rd of this month and then Chile on the 26th in Marseille.
The squad has seen the return of the quartet Ibrahima Konate, Benjamin Pavard, Aurélien Chouamini, and Moussa Depay following their absence from the last international break due to injury.

The 24-year-old player Diaby, coming from Aston Villa with ten international matches, has replaced the injured Kingsley Coman and Christopher Nkunku to bolster the French attack. They already have the talented leader Kylian Mbappe, who achieved an incredible goalscoring record of 38 goals in 37 matches with Paris Saint-Germain in various competitions this season. This means that the German defense line, reinforced with new faces, will face its toughest test.

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