Germany and France will face each other in the UEFA Nations League third-place play-off in Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon.

Both sides saw their dreams of Nations League glory dashed in the middle of the week, with Germany, who are hosting the semi-finals, final and third-place play-off, being beaten 2–1 by Portugal, while France were on the receiving end of a nine-goal thriller against the European champions, Spain. Les Bleus almost staged an astonishing late comeback, having been four goals down with 23 minutes remaining, but ultimately accepted their 5–4 defeat.

France won the Nations League in 2021, but Germany were hoping to win it for the first time. Instead, they will compete in an unwanted third-place playoff against the third-ranked national team in the FIFA rankings.

Germany did not suffer any new injuries. However, with Rudiger and Schlotterbeck missing from the national team this time, Germany's defensive problems are becoming increasingly apparent. Judging by their performance in the last round, they may not be able to withstand Mbappé's attacks.

The French team suffered an injury blow after the semi-final with Spain. Two of Paris Saint-Germain's forwards, the newly crowned Champions League champions Dembele and Barcora, withdrew from the training camp due to injury. In addition, Atlético Madrid's central defender, Lenglet, withdrew due to a hip injury.

Germany coach Nagelsmann expressed his hope that the team can perform as well as they did when they beat France last March. In that match, former and current Bayer Leverkusen players Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz each scored a goal.

The German head coach said: "The depth of their squad is impressive—a tremendous depth in every position. When France gets into their stride, they're difficult to stop. We already showed in March that we can beat them. Tomorrow we want to keep them out of dangerous areas and build more possession ourselves. If we control the ball, we definitely have the quality for a strong performance."

According to L'Équipe, France coach Didier Deschamps may continue to use the same 4-2-3-1 formation as in the last game. Cherki, who performed well as a substitute against Spain, is likely to make his first start for the national team tomorrow.

The two countries have a long history of competing against each other on the football pitch, and there has never been much to separate them. In their last ten encounters, Germany and France have won four apiece, with Germany triumphing in the last two meetings.

In all 34 recorded matches, Germany has won 12, France 15, and there have been seven draws. Griezmann is the French player with the most goals in Germany-France matches (5), while Gerd Müller and Rudi Völler are the German players with the most goals (3).

Possible starting lineup

Germany: Ter Stegen, Anton, Koch, Tah, Mittelstädt, Goretzka, Groß, Kimmich, Wirtz, Woltemade, Adeyemi

France: Maignan, Theo, Konaté, Kalulu, Gusto, Rabiot, Koné, Doué, Cherki, Olise, Mbappé