Kylian Mbappé celebrated a landmark 50th international goal as France beat Germany 2-0 in Stuttgart to claim third place in the UEFA Nations League, offering a glimpse of their intent ahead of this summer’s Euro 2025.
The French captain opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, finishing coolly after being picked out by Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni. It was a moment of calm in a frenetic match that saw both sides push forward with purpose but lack precision.
Mbappé, still only 26, capped off a man-of-the-match performance by turning provider in the 84th minute. After intercepting a loose pass from Robin Koch, the forward unselfishly squared the ball to Michael Olise, who tapped into an empty net to seal the win.
Germany, playing on home soil, weren’t without chances. Karim Adeyemi thought he had won a penalty midway through the first half when he went down under the challenge of French keeper Mike Maignan. But a swift VAR review not only overturned the decision, it earned Adeyemi a yellow card for simulation.
The hosts were denied again when Deniz Undav’s close-range finish was ruled out due to a foul by Niclas Fullkrug in the build-up. VAR again at the centre of frustration for Julian Nagelsmann’s men.
France’s Maignan, reportedly attracting interest from Chelsea, put in a strong performance between the sticks, denying Adeyemi three times and getting a touch to a long-range strike from Florian Wirtz that came off the post.
The woodwork wasn’t done there. Marcus Thuram curled an effort onto the post for France in the second half, while Mbappé himself narrowly missed a second goal, forcing a fine save from Marc-André ter Stegen and dragging two other efforts wide.
For Germany, it’s now three games without a win, which is a worrying run just weeks out from a home Euros. The pressure is quietly mounting on Nagelsmann to spark a turnaround in form.
France, meanwhile, head into the summer with renewed belief and a talisman in red-hot form.
Spain face Portugal in Sunday night’s final in Munich (20:00 BST) to determine the 2025 Nations League champions.
