Germany offered itself Monday evening in Munich, the Netherlands, thanks to a goal from its novice Jamie Leweling and validated its place at the end of March for the quarter-finals of the League of Nations, even before the last two days .
With 10 points on the clock, Julian Nagelsmann’s men are guaranteed to finish in one of the first two places in their group 3.
The two November meetings in Friborg against Bosnia-Herzegovina (on the 16th) and in Budapest against Hungary (on the 19th) will have the challenge of securing first place and the advantage of hosting the quarter-final return on March 23, 2025. , three days after an away match.
Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands remains on five points and now finds itself under threat from Hungary, also five points, who won in Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-0). The duel in Amsterdam against the Magyars on November 16 promises to be decisive for second place in the quarterfinals of this group.
Germany and the Netherlands, two of the flagship nations of European football respectively quarter- and semi-finalists of the last Euro-2024, were neutralized in Amsterdam five weeks ago, with two goals on each side, and an advantage for each team (1-0 for the Dutch, 2-1 for the Germans).
For the shock return of this group 3 in Munich, the spectacle was less there than on the first leg, the fault of the extremely defensive Dutch. In a closed meeting dominated by the Germans, the light came from a set piece and a powerful strike from Jamie Leweling, one of the two novices in the Mannschaft jersey on Monday evening.
On a corner taken by Joshua Kimmich and taken by Tim Kleindienst, Leweling took the ball hard to slide it into the top corner. Replaced in the 87th minute by Robin Gossens, Leweling was able to enjoy an ovation from the 68,367 spectators at the Allianz Arena.
Baumann at the parade
This opening score rewarded the German domination during the first period. Leweling thought he had put his teammates on the right track in the second minute with a strike after a ball scratched by Serge Gnabry on a high press, but Kleindienst found himself very slightly in an offside position.
Little used, the German goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, also a novice at 34, perfectly repelled a strike from Donyell Malen in the 90th minute. A quarter of an hour earlier, he had seen a shot from Xavi Simons flirt with his crossbar.
The Mannschaft, eliminated in the quarter-final of “its” Euro-2024 by Spain (2-1 after extra time), approached this October international window deprived of five injured starters (Marc-André ter Stegen, David Raum, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Niclas Füllkrug). Monday evening, she also had to do without Deniz Undav, author of a double on Friday, but victim of muscle pain and last minute withdrawal.
After a continuous decline since 2018 and having reached the bottom last November after a catastrophic year 2023 (results at half mast and coach dismissed in the middle of a rally), Germany is gradually recovering its head.
In four matches, the Germans won three times against Hungary (5-0) and the Netherlands (1-0), and in Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-1) and brought home a point from Amsterdam ( 2-2), achieving their best run in the continental competition launched in 2018 and which, until then, has never been successful for them.
A double from Kolo Muani brings France
Randal Kolo Muani once again demonstrated that he was currently the most effective attacker of the France team by scoring a double against Belgium (2-1), Monday in Brussels in the League of Nations, quite a contrast by in relation to his situation at PSG.
While the debate is incessant concerning the identity of the center forward of the Blues responsible for making us forget Olivier Giroud, the top scorer in the history of the Blues (57 goals), Didier Deschamps may have already found him. Because RKM continues to shine in the jersey of the vice-world champions despite recurring criticism of his game.
By shaking the nets twice at the King Baudouin stadium, first from a penalty (35th) then from a header following a cross from Lucas Digne (62nd), the native of Bondy (25 years old, 25 caps ) brought his total with the Blues to eight goals, without forgetting his shot deflected into his own cage by a Belgian defender in the round of 16 of Euro-2024. Sacred statistics which are enough to extinguish the competition. Starting with that of Marcus Thuram, effective with Inter Milan, but who has not yet managed to prove that he has the international level.
The coach can be satisfied to have maintained his confidence in the Parisian despite the numerous misfortunes experienced by the no. 12 in the French team. No one has forgotten this golden opportunity missed at the last second in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina. An action that has gone down in history and which would have weighed down any attacker. But not Kolo Muani, who can rely on an ironclad mentality.
In the months following the World Cup in Qatar, Deschamps made him his official center forward, but he struggled to take over from Giroud. The fault lies in technical shortcomings, particularly in playing with their backs to goal. But Kolo Muani, then tossed to the right, or even the left, never gave up.
Moderate confidence in PSG
Against the Belgians, everything was not yet perfect in the game and his connection with his teammates was not always obvious. But he had the merit of hanging on to end up being the hero of the Blues.
A situation that is the opposite of the one he experiences in the club. At PSG where he arrived in the last minutes of the summer transfer window in August 2023, coach Luis Enrique only has moderate confidence in him. After an up-and-down season, the departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid then the injury to Portuguese Gonçalo Ramos should have opened the doors to the starting eleven. But the Spanish technician most often prefers to play without a No. 9, leaving only crumbs for Kolo Muani. A small humiliation for the French international.
So much so that a transfer from PSG is no longer a fantasy at all for a player bought for 90 million euros in Frankfurt.
“He is rather confident every time I have had to deal with him,” Deschamps said last month, taking the opposite view from Luis Enrique. It must be recognized that with the Blues, Kolo Muani disappoints less and less.
