Euro 2016 - Germany 0-2 France: Player Ratings
France advanced to the summit clash of this year’s European Championships as an Antoine Griezmann double knocked out world champions Germany in Marseille.
After Germany bossed the first half, Bastian Schweinsteiger was penalised for handball right at the stroke of half-time which led to a penalty. Griezmann sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way to give the hosts an unlikely lead. The lead was doubled midway through the second half as Griezmann pounced on a half-cleared punch by Neuer to stab home his and France’s second.
The result sends France to Saint-Denis on Sunday, where they will face off against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal at their national stadium(Stade de France) in a bid to lift the coveted Euro 2016 crown.
Here are the player ratings on a scale of 1-10 based on their individual performances in Marseille:
Germany
Manuel Neuer – 6
He made a few good saves, but he will have to take responsibility for misjudging his punch to gift Griezmann his second goal to seal France’s victory.
Joshua Kimmich - 6
He was impressive going down the flanks and hit the post late in the game. However, his error in the build-up to France’s second goal quashes all his good attributes.
Benedikt Howedes – 7
He was easily the strongest figure at the back. His last-man tackle to deny Giroud on the break outlines an impressive performance.
Jerome Boateng – 7
He looked strong and confident in defence before an unfortunate muscle pull ended his night prematurely.
Hector – 6
The fullback failed to create any good chances upfront and could not latch onto any long passes directed towards him.
Emre Can – 6.5
He started brightly, advancing upfront on numerous instances and even having an attempt at goal saved by Hugo Lloris. He petered out as the game progressed and was replaced by Mario Gotze.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 6
He was Germany’s most industrious figure on the pitch in the first half, passing the ball around with purpose to ensure Germany were on the front-foot. But his fatal error right at the end of the first half to concede the penalty strikes him down.
Toni Kroos – 7
He was lively as usual in the attacking third, feeding long balls to the wingers and winning ground duels to rubberstamp Germany’s domination.
Mesut Ozil - 7
Germany’s puppet-master was at it once again, helping create big goal-scoring opportunities with his vision to pick out a pass. France were extremely vigilant towards Ozil’s defence cutting passes and had to pay extra attention negotiating him.
Julian Draxler – 6
The winger yet again failed to replicate his heroics against the Slovakians. He was unable to destabilize the French defenders with his quick feet and was guilty of losing the ball in important positions.
Thomas Muller – 5.5
Another Euro Cup outing, another blank for Thomas Muller. He failed to finish off good opportunities and did not work Lloris enough throughout the game.
Substitutes
Shkodran Mustafi – 6.5
He replaced the injured Boateng with half an hour to play and appeared reasonably confident against a resurgent France. He was not at fault for the hosts’ second goal and even managed to create a chance late in the game.
Mario Gotze – 6
He was thrown on for the final quarter of the game to add creativity to Germany’s midfield but was well shut down by France’s heroic defenders.
Leroy Sane – 5
Did not make any real impact for the 10 minutes he was on the pitch.