A second-half brace from Antoine Griezmann saw France come from behind to defeat Germany 2-1 in the Nations League, with a controversial penalty sealing the victory in Paris, after which Low's side is on brink of Nations League relegation.
2018/2019 UEFA Nations League
2-1
Match Events
14' Penalty Goal! France 0-1 Germany (Kroos)
PENALTY! Pogba concedes possession sloppily and Germany break as Sane tries to cut a pass back into the middle but his attempt is bloked by Kimpembe, who is penalised for handball.
GOAL! 1-0 Germany! Lloris guesses the right way diving to his left and gets a hand on Kroos' spot-kick but it is not enough to prevent the Real Madrid man from opening the scoring.
23' CHANCE! Ginter's shot saved by Lloris
SAVE! A Germany corner causes havoc in the France defence and Kehrer forces a fine stop from Lloris, who palms the ball behind for another corner and then comes to collect the resulting set-piece.
39' Neuer collects the ball before Mbappe gets a toe on it
Almost the moment for France as Griezmann chips a pass over the top of the Germany defence towards Mbappe, who has burst into space, but it is just beyond the reach of the Paris Saint-Germain ace and Neuer collects.
51' CHANCE! Mbappe's shot saved
SAVE! First chance for Mbappe as he finds room to break through one-on-one with Neuer but the veteran goalkeeper keeps the scores level with a fine save.
62' GOAL! France 1-1 Germany (Griezmann)
GOAL! 1-1! Pogba finds Hernandez on the overlap and he whips a cross to Griezmann around the penalty spot, who loops a header over the top of Neuer to equalise for the hosts.
67' SAVE! Lloris denies Gnabry's shot
SAVE! Gnabry pounces on a loose ball and fires a firm shot from outside the box but Lloris is there to make the save
80' Penalty Goal! France 2-1 Germany (Griezmann)
PENALTY! Mbappe feeds a pass through the Germany defence to Matuidi, who shifts the ball away from Hummels and falls to ground. The contact looks to be minimal but France have a golden opportunity to take the lead.
GOAL! 2-1 France! Griezmann makes no mistake from the spot and sends Neuer the wrong way to turn the game around, doubling his tally in the process.
Match reports
France sit four points clear at the top of their Nations League group after Antoine Griezmann instigated a 2-1 win over Germany.
Joachim Low made five changes to the Germany side that lost 3-0 to Netherlands and their dynamic front three caused real problems for France in the first period, though they could not maintain the same level after the break as the hosts turned things around through Griezmann.
Despite the potential to threaten with Kylian Mbappe's pace, France offered little in attack during the first half and deservedly trailed at the interval thanks to Toni Kroos' spot-kick.
But Didier Deschamps' side improved after the interval, levelling through a sumptuous Griezmann header before going four points clear at the top of League A Group 1 thanks to the Atletico Madrid forward’s contentious late penalty.
France struggled to contain Germany early on and trailed after 14 minutes, as Presnel Kimpembe handled Leroy Sane's cut-back cross and Kroos squeezed the resulting penalty beyond Hugo Lloris' dive.
Lloris did make a vital intervention in the 24th minute, however, denying Matthias Ginter from close range, with France only clicking in attack at the end of the half when Olivier Giroud turned Lucas Hernandez's low cross over the goal.
Manuel Neuer was finally called into action early in the second half, thwarting Mbappe in a one-on-one situation, but the goalkeeper was helpless just after the hour mark when Griezmann met Lucas' delivery with a fine glancing header which found the top-right corner.
Griezmann completed the turnaround 10 minutes from time, coolly dispatching from 12 yards after Mats Hummels – whose foot was trodden on by Blaise Matuidi as he attempted to make a sliding challenge – was adjudged to have fouled the Juventus midfielder.
Line-ups
France XI: B. Matuidi, H. Lloris, O. Giroud, A. Griezmann, R. Varane, P. Pogba, N. Kanté, P. Kimpembe, L. Hernández, B. Pavard, K. Mbappé
Subs: Payet, S. Mandanda, Sakho, S. N'Zonzi, D. Sidibé, A. Areola, Digne, Zouma, T. Lemar, O. Dembélé, NDombele
Germany XI: M. Neuer, M. Hummels, T. Kroos, Schulz, N. Süle, Gnabry, M. Ginter, T. Werner, J. Kimmich, Kehrer, Sané
Subs: T. Müller, S. Rudy, M. ter Stegen, B. Leno, J. Hector, E.Can, Mark Uth, J. Draxler, J. Brandt, J.Tah