Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe helped France to secure third place in the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League.
France won the bronze medal after a commanding 2-0 win over host nation Germany at the MHPArena in Stuttgart, ending their campaign on a high note while condemning the Germans to back-to-back defeats in the tournament.
Despite the often low-key nature of a third-place playoff, both sides approached the match with determination. Germany, looking to salvage pride on home soil, started strongly with five attempts on goal inside the opening six minutes.
Nick Woltemade and Karim Adeyemi tested France’s Mike Maignan, while Lucas Digne made a crucial block to deny Niclas Füllkrug.
France, however, weathered the early pressure and gradually grew into the game. Their first real threat came through Loïc Badé, whose powerful header from a corner forced Marc-André ter Stegen into an acrobatic save.
Drama ensued in the 30th minute when Adeyemi appeared to win a penalty after going down under a challenge from Maignan.
Referee Ivan Kružliak initially pointed to the spot, but a lengthy VAR review reversed the decision, with Adeyemi instead shown a yellow card for simulation.
Germany came close again when Florian Wirtz struck the post and Maignan reacted quickly to deny Woltemade’s close-range effort. But it was France who broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.
A precise cross from Aurélien Tchouaméni was expertly controlled by Kylian Mbappé, who cut inside and slotted the ball past Ter Stegen to make it 1-0.
Mbappé nearly doubled the lead moments into the second half, firing into the side netting. Germany thought they had equalised in the 53rd minute through Deniz Undav, but the goal was disallowed after VAR spotted a foul by Füllkrug on Adrien Rabiot in the build-up.
France continued to threaten on the counter. Marcus Thuram rattled the post following a slick move by Randal Kolo Muani, while Ter Stegen produced key saves to deny both Thuram and a stinging Mbappé volley.
The victory was sealed in the 84th minute when Mbappé sprinted clear of a weary German defence, unselfishly squaring the ball for substitute Michael Olise to tap into an open net.
With this result, France adds a Nations League bronze medal to their 2020-2021 title, while Germany remains without silverware in the competition.
Note that Spain and Portugal will play the 2025 UEFA Nations League final at 8 p.m. later today, June 8.
