Kroos rues ‘unfortunate goal’ in Germany defeat by France

Toni Kroos rued an ‘unfortunate’ own goal for Mats Hummels in Germany’s defeat by France in their opening Euro 2020 match on Tuesday which increases the pressure on Joachim Loew’s men.

Hummels put through his own net in the first half to give France a 1-0 win at the Allianz Arena to start their Group F campaign.

France carried a greater threat going forward but could only score once, with Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema, back from international exile, both seeing second-half goals disallowed while Adrien Rabiot hit the post.

Germany had few clear chances, with Serge Gnabry going closest when he fired over the bar in the second half.

“We had our chances, no fewer than the French had, but the match was decided by an unfortunate goal,” Kroos told broadcaster ARD.

“We would have defended against that nine times out of 10.

“We controlled most of the match and there were very few counter-attacks from the French.”

Kroos bristled when asked about the disallowed goals by Mbappe and Benzema, saying “offside is offside, right?”

Germany are eager to avoid a repeat of the 2018 World Cup when they finished bottom of their group and the pressure is on for Saturday’s home game against Portugal.

“We have lost the first match and when you only have three games, then the pressure is large,” added Kroos.

German midfielder Joshua Kimmich admitted Die Mannschaft have to prove themselves against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.

“I wouldn’t say we were the worst team, France didn’t have that many chances,” said the Bayern Munich star.

“France have shown they are one of the favourites and now we have to prove that too in the next game.”

Germany must ‘crank it up’: Loew Germany head coach Joachim Loew says his side must ‘crank things up’ ahead of Saturday’s clash against Ronaldo’s Portugal after an opening defeat.

Germany’s defence showed signs of improvement, having leaked 20 goals in their previous 13 games, but the main concern is up front, where Thomas Mueller, Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz mustered just one shot between them.

“It’s up to us to crank things up in the next two or three days,” said Loew. “We have to look to improve, because we need a goal or two.”

Despite having more possession, running four kilometres more than the French as a team and completing nearly twice as many passes, Germany came up short.

The second-half introduction of Timo Werner and Leroy Sane was not enough to turn the tide.

Deschamps hails France’s ‘fight’ : France coach Didier Deschamps saluted his side’s ‘fight’ after an impressive victory.

“We played a big game, against very good opponents too,” Deschamps told M6. “I knew my players were going to be ready, but we were in everything, in the fight.

“We didn’t struggle that much in the second half. It was a tough match with quality, talent.”

France next face Hungary in Budapest on Saturday before rounding off Group F with another mouth-watering clash against holders Portugal on June 23.

“It was our first match, but it could’ve been a semi-final or a final,” added Deschamps. “Obviously, in our group, to take these three points here, it’s something important.

“It won’t be decisive, but with the quality of this German team... This victory will do us good.”

Pavard reveals unconsciousness: France defender Benjamin Pavard revealed he briefly lost consciousness during the game.

Pavard was poleaxed in the second half in a collision with Germany left-back Robin Gosens and needed treatment on the pitch.

“I had quite a shock,” said Pavard. “I was a bit knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds. After that, I felt better.”

Agencies