TipResumen

GERMANY

A new tournament has been set up for international teams in Europe and it looks like a model that will be incorporated by the other Confederations in the years ahead. The UEFA Nations League will replace the majority of friendly matches which have not been well received by the fans and the format should result in competitive games, although it remains to be seen how much importance is attached to the Nations League in the first couple of editions of the competition. The biggest game on the opening night of the Nations League comes from Germany as the fans arrive hoping to see an immediate response from a nation that massively underachieved in the World Cup a couple of months ago. Going into that tournament the defending Champions would have been one of the favourites to win the World Cup, but Germany were stunned by the likes of Mexico and South Korea to fail to even make it out of the Group Stage. Over the last twelve years under Joachim Low, Germany have been there or thereabouts in every major international tournament they have played prior to the World Cup in Russia. In a tough Group in the Nations League, Germany have the chance to lay an immediate marker for the years ahead by beating the World Cup winners. Germany have not been in the greatest form with just 2 wins from their last 9 games in all competitions and they have been beaten in 4 of their last 6. The side beat Saudi Arabia narrowly 2-1 in their last friendly here prior to the World Cup and Germany also snapped a run of 3 home games without a victory by winning that game. Some big decisions were made regarding the squad in the summer, but Joachim Low has admitted mistakes were made. Some of the older heads have been eased out of the squad ahead of this first Nations League fixture.



FRANCE

Didier Deschamps has been criticised for a 'negative' style in a number of different sections of the media, but helping France win a second World Cup will have eased all pressures on the manager. Deschamps played when France first won the World Cup in 1998 and backing that up as a manager twenty years later means he is in rare company. It won't be easy to quickly move on from the triumph of the summer, but a new competition begins on Thursday and France will be amongst the favourites to go on and win the inaugural Nations League. Getting out of a Group containing both Germany and the Netherlands won't be easy, but France could make a giant move if they can win the two Nations League games they are playing over the next few days. France were stunned in a 2-3 friendly loss to Colombia a few months ago, but they are unbeaten in 11 games since then and they have won 9 of those which culminated in the World Cup Final success over Croatia. The side have only lost 1 of their last 9 away games and the confidence from their successes in Russia makes this France team very dangerous. Hugo Lloris has been ruled out, but France could have an otherwise unchanged starting line up from the World Cup Final.



HEAD TO HEAD

France have only lost 2 of their last 11 games against Germany and they have won 7 of those games. France have also gone unbeaten in their last 4 away games in Germany and they had won 3 in a row before conceding deep into injury time in a 2-2 draw in November 2017.



PREDICTION

The UEFA Nations League was created to reduce the amount of international friendlies that had fans complaining. While the actual dates of international football have not changed, the Nations League is supposed to be a competition that will become important historically like the European Championship has become. The format is not as difficult to follow as it first sounded and the teams in the 'League A' pots will be the ones that can go on and compete for the Nations League trophy at the end of the season. It should mean plenty of more competitive matches and better quality fixtures during the international weekends but time will tell how much stock managers and nations really put into this tournament. An opening game between Germany and France, the last two World Cup Winners, looks the perfect way for the Nations League to make a splash. Germany want redemption after a terrible World Cup Finals, while France will be looking to show they can become a dominant international team in the years ahead. France have the better form and have seemingly enjoyed playing Germany in recent years. They have the more settled eleven that is likely to start this one and I am surprised they are the underdog here so backing the away team with the start looks the way to go. The French national team have not lost in Germany since the nation was unified (last defeat was to West Germany) and they had won 3 in a row before a 93rd minute Germany goal earned the home team a 2-2 draw last November. I am surprised Germany have been set as a fairly strong favourite and I will back France to at least avoid defeat here.