UEFA Nations League: Mbappé nets 50th goal for France in third-place match

Kylian Mbappe helped France win the Nations League third-place match as Les Bleus rallied from a lethargic start to defeat host nation Germany 2-0 in the tournament’s consolation match.

Aurelien Tchouameni set up Real Madrid teammate Mbappé to score his 50th international goal just before the break after Germany had dominated the first half. Mbappé set up substitute Michael Olise to seal the result in the 84th after a much-improved second-half performance from the visitors.

Mbappé’s 50 goals is now just behind Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (57) in the all-time men’s scoring list for France. 

“If you look at the first half, honestly, they were not bothered winning. But they still won,” Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said.

France coach Didier Deschamps had made his lack of enthusiasm for the game clear the day before, noting his team had little to gain from playing it, and it was apparent which side was more motivated in front of the Stuttgart fans.

“The game is there, we’ll play it,” Deschamps had said. France was without injured Paris Saint-Germain stars Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.

Germany missed a host of chances then had Deniz Undav’s equalizer ruled out for a foul by Niclas Fullkrug in the buildup.

Both sides were forced to play for the consolation prize after losing their semifinals. Germany lost 2-1 to Portugal on Wednesday before France lost 5-4 to European champion Spain on Thursday. Spain was playing Portugal later in Munich.

Reporting by The Associated Press. 

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