Football - Nations League. Turnover, third-place play-off: the Germany-France match in question

In the Nations League final, the question of turnover could have arisen. But since there will be no title at stake this Sunday, and since the already long and exhausting season of the Blues will not be over for the majority of them with the Club World Cup, the French team will not have the same face as against Spain. "Among the players present, some are not in the best condition (Dembélé, Barcola and Lenglet even left the training camp, injured, without being replaced, Editor's note), does not elude Didier Deschamps . The short time between the two matches, less than seventy-two hours, will lead me to make a lot of changes. I will distribute the playing time without taking any risks."

The coach hasn't closed any doors. Lucas Chevalier has a good chance of making his first selection. "We'll see how Mike (Maignan) feels. It's possible. I haven't made a decision yet," he explained at the pre-match press conference. All lines are concerned. Particularly in attack where Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram could occupy the wings while Rayan Cherki is well on his way to making his first start as a number 10. In defense, while Ibrahima Konaté and Benjamin Pavard trained separately on Saturday, there were more uncertainties after the problems encountered against La Roja . In midfield, finally, Aurélien Tchouaméni , who has been rested since Monday, is a candidate for a starting spot.

France will be playing in a minor final for the fifth time in its history. And it has been nearly 40 years since it last experienced the almost non-existent charm of this type of match. So far, the record has been balanced: two wins (6-3 against… Germany at the 1958 World Cup and 4-2 against Belgium at the 1986 World Cup) and two losses (0-2 against Czechoslovakia at Euro 1960 and 2-3 against Poland at the 1982 World Cup).

"I won't hide from you that the stakes are relative," Didier Deschamps agrees. "There's a match, we have to play it, and it's Germany. The players who will be on the pitch will have every interest in giving their best. This will help me in the analysis, with my staff, while taking into account the specific situation." There's no stakes, but therefore no interest for the substitutes and the newcomers who will have the opportunity to express themselves. A year before the World Cup, any opportunity to show off in the eyes of the coach is worth taking. Especially within a team that hasn't yet found the right formula for the long term.

"I was watching it yesterday (Friday), it's a new team, few players have more than thirty caps, so we have to rebuild, build a reputation, without looking at the past with 2018 and 2022, says captain Kylian Mbappé . It's an enticing challenge because there is a lot of talent in this team and we can do great things."

Against Croatia at the Stade de France and Spain on Thursday in Stuttgart, Les Bleus started the match with four attacking players. Positioned in a 4-2-3-1 formation, they were able to leverage this combination of talents to make an impact in attack, even if it wasn't without a certain crippling imbalance against the European champions. "I have players with very interesting potential. They won't all be able to play, but in my thinking, I've never deprived myself of attacking players. It's a question of balance," recalls "DD." I'm not going to complain about having a lot of attacking players at my disposal, who have many qualities. Now, that needs confirmation."

With 24 shots against La Roja (9 on target), the French team weighed heavily in the opposing half, without being effective enough despite scoring four goals. While the potential is there, some playmaking skills still need to be refined. And like Rayan Cherki, who made a perfect introduction at the MHPArena on Thursday, the squad is interesting to complement the unshakeable Kylian Mbappé against Germany. "We can play with four attackers, three, two, it's all about playmaking," said the captain, who gained "some certainties" in attacking play against Spain. "I knew a French team with two or three (forwards). The trick is to find the best offensive and defensive balance." It remains to be seen whether the world runners-up finish the season in the same configuration, which has been the trend.

Having hit rock bottom a year before hosting Euro 2024, Germany has made a spectacular comeback under Julian Nagelsmann, and arguably would have deserved to knock out Spain in the quarterfinals a year ago. Since then, with a promising new generation (Musiala, Wirtz, Pavlovic), the Mannschaft has confirmed its progress by topping its Nations League group, then crushing Italy in the quarterfinals.

But Wednesday's semi-final loss to Portugal (1-2) reawakened public doubts. Nagelsmann's three-man defense raised questions among German fans and followers, who have long had doubts about the national team's defensive depth. As soon as Rüdiger, the defensive leader for several years, is absent, as he was at this gathering, the entire German house of cards tends to collapse.

It's too early to talk about a setback in Germany. But this Sunday's third-place play-off may be of little more importance than for France, which is expected to rotate more. Because while Les Bleus also need to gain certainty on the road to the next World Cup, the German team is starting from further back and cannot afford to waste these matches against the cream of European football.