One could have been forgiven for thinking
that this was something more than a soccer match, with all the pre-match
references to the 1940 And All That. What transpired was indeed a German victory,
but the French were no cheese-eating surrender monkeys.
The Maracanã, sweltering in ninety percent
humidity, witnessed ninety minutes of German possession against French
counter-attacking, with the appropriate level of physicality from both sides,
but it still somehow felt as if les bleus
wouldn’t be able to equalise after Die
Mannschaft went ahead in the thirteenth minute.
That first goal was headed in from a
swirling Toni Kroos free kick which found Mats Hummels in a crowded penalty
area. The Germans had most of the chances on goal in the first half, and some
skulduggery in front of the goal by the French defenders meant that they were
unlucky to have two penalty appeals turned down. The three-time world champions
went into the sheds with fifty-five percent of the possession and twice as many
completed passes, a reminder to the influence of Pep Guardiola’s Bayern München
on this squad.
The fact that France were denied what
looked like a rightful penalty soon after the break, along with the fact that
only two yellow cards were brandished during the match, led one to think that
the Argentine referee had left his whistle at home. Bastian Schweinsteiger
certainly earned his caution, given for a spate of persistent fouling which
included a shoulder charge on Mathieu Valbuena. As cariocas were also treated to some lovely tit-for-tat argy-bargy
midway through the second period involving Thomas Müller and Patrice Evra. The
other intriguing battle was the contest between the two sweeper-keepers (or
should that be keeper-sweepers?), Hugo Lloris and Manuel Neuer. (Manuel playing
for the Germans? ¿Que?)
Les
bleus threw everything at the German goal: Benzema,
Griezmann, Valbuena, Matuidi, and even the subbed-on Olivier Giroud.
Ultimately, they were unable to break through a German defence which was at its
best defending against corners. It was a well-deserved victory, and Germany
will be difficult to beat in Belo Horizonte.
France 0 – Germany 1 (Mats Hummels 13’)
Cautions: Sami Khedira (Ger.) 54’; Bastian
Schweinsteiger (Ger.) 80’
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