France secured a third-place finish in the UEFA Nations League after defeating Germany 2-0 in Stuttgart on Sunday evening, thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise.
Les Bleus bounced back from their dramatic 5-4 semi-final loss to Spain with a composed and clinical performance, while Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany settled for fourth following their own semi-final defeat to Portugal earlier in the week.
Germany started brightly, putting France under early pressure, with Mike Maignan pulling off smart saves to deny Niklas Füllkrug and Karim Adeyemi.
The hosts thought they had a breakthrough when Adeyemi won a penalty, but Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak overturned the decision after a VAR review and booked the German winger for simulation.
France took the lead just before the break through a moment of magic from Mbappé.
The Real Madrid forward latched onto a long pass from Aurélien Tchouaméni, dribbled past Joshua Kimmich, and curled a superb finish beyond Marc-André ter Stegen into the top corner.
Germany came out in the second half searching for an equaliser and believed they had found one when Deniz Undav struck low into the net.
However, VAR ruled it out for a foul by Füllkrug on Adrien Rabiot in the buildup.
France nearly extended their lead when Marcus Thuram hit the post, while ter Stegen was called into action repeatedly to deny both Mbappé and Thuram.
Deschamps’ men eventually sealed the win in the 84th minute.
Mbappé burst through on the counter and squared the ball for Olise, who tapped into an empty net to wrap up the victory and secure the bronze medal.
Despite Germany’s dominance in possession, it was France’s efficiency and composure in key moments that proved decisive.
