Germany held by France in Nations League opener

On a rainy night, Germany won back some respect with a battling performance after its shock World Cup group- stage exit in Russia, its earliest in 80 years in the tournament. The French looked to be nursing a post-World Cup hangover, lacking their usual speed and creativity, and but for Areola’s key saves in the second half the final, scoreline would have been different in the League A, Group 1 game.

  Unusually, the Germans started with four central defenders and with Joshua Kimmich switching from right back to a holding midfield position, as Loew tried to strike a better balance between attack and defence than his team had done in Russia.

Deschamps on the other hand fielded his World Cup final team including Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, apart from injured keeper Hugo Lloris, with Areola making his debut. Neither side were eager to risk much, with a chance apiece in the first half.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer did well to save a Griezmann effort just past the hour but Areola made the saves of the evening, first punching Marco Reus’s close-range effort wide. The 25-year-old, who started because both Lloris and second choice Steve Mandanda were injured, denied Mats Hummels, tipped a Thomas Mueller chip over the bar and stopped Matthias Ginter scoring from close range to spare his team’s blushes.

The Nations League aims to boost interest in internationals, which are seen by clubs and fans as disruptive to the domestic football season. To be held every two years, it features all 55 of Europe’s national teams divided into four divisions split into four groups.