Four Observations from Germany’s 2-0 UEFA Nations League loss to France

Julian Nagelsmann and his side will be disappointed to only be taking away fourth spot in the UEFA Nations League after a mostly successful group stage.

Here are four observations from a disappointing week for German football.

A truly disastrous international break

Ahead of Germany’s UEFA Nations League semi-final against Portugal, Julian Nagelsmann emphasised the importance of building confidence ahead of his side’s World Cup Qualifiers kicking off in September.

Yet, following Germany’s losses against Portugal and France, Germany’s 37-year-old manager might be wondering if his side will even qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Compared to Europe’s elite, Germany is still way off the mark.

The only consolation is that Nagelsmann still has one whole year to whip his team into shape, if they actually make it to the World Cup that is.

Does Nagelsmann actually fit international management?

Nagelsmann is a very innovative and tactical manager, who is able to adapt on the fly in order to overcome his opposition.

These traits are all good on paper, but in order to execute it, you need a well drilled team who are on the exact same page as you, and in international football, that is much more difficult to accomplish.

In club football you spend a significant amount of time coaching, tweaking and fine tuning your team. In international football, you only get a small window to work with your side before they are off to their club sides once again, thus making it extremely important for the players to know exactly what the game plan is.

This is where the potential issue lies with Nagelsmann. Being the innovator and tactician that he is, he is always looking to change the system in order to gain an advantage over the opposition, which again is a fantastic trait to have. However, given the limited coaching time Nagelsmann has, the constant chopping and changing of systems makes it difficult for the players to learn and execute. A good example is Germany utilising a back three system against Portugal, then using a 4-4-2 against France. Two vastly different systems in two games.

Perhaps the former Bayern Munich coach just needs more time with his squad or perhaps he should just simplify.

Either way, Germany have a long road ahead if they want to challenge at the forefront of international football again.

Germany couldn’t finish a two piece puzzle

After the first fifteen minutes, you would have bet your house on Germany, at the very least, scoring a goal.

In the first half, Florian Wirtz, Nick Woltemade and Karim Adeyemi all had fantastic chances to score but all three players managed to squander their opportunity, either shooting directly at France’s shot-stopper, Mike Maignan, or putting the ball wide of the mark.

Ultimately, Germany had a lot of shots against France, it’s just a shame the only one that hit hit themselves in the foot.

Germany VARy unlucky to come away goalless?

As controversial and polarising as VAR has been since it’s introduction, there have been many cases in which the video technology has helped the referee rectify incorrect decisions, leaving one side relieved and another frustrated.

Germany, unfortunately, were left the frustrated ones after VAR disallowed a heroic goal from second half substitute and Stuttgart local, Deniz Undav, as well as overturning a 33rd minute penalty awarded to Adeyemi.

Both decisions were in fact correct, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating for the Germans.

Looking for more thoughts on Germany’s 2-0 loss to France in the UEFA Nations League third-place match? Awesome, then we’ve got you covered with a look at Germany’s starting XI, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and some final takeaways on the match. You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, Acast, several other leading podcast distributors, or below:

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