In its rich history, Germany had never ousted a coach. This is the price paid for yet another humiliation for the Mannschaft, beaten 4-1 at home Saturday in Wolfsburg by Japan, who had already put them down at the World Cup in Qatar (2-1).

While one limps, the other runs. Didier Deschamps' men have won their first five Euro 2024 qualifying matches without conceding a goal. The Germans, who will host the Euro, have lost four of their last five meetings...

On the bench on Tuesday, the interim will be ensured by Rudi Voeller, sporting director of the German Federation (DFB) and old acquaintance of French football, winner of the Champions League with Marseille in 1993.

The DBF must then find a successor to Flick to straighten the bar, nine months before the Euro it organizes, a position for which the former coach of Bayern Munich Julian Nagelsmann seems best placed, according to the press across the Rhine.

Voeller will first have to find solutions in defense. Without Marc-Andre ter Stegen's saves, the bill against Japan could have been much heavier.

Kolo Muani or Thuram?

French striker Randal Kolo Muani (right) during a training session at the Parc de Princes in Paris on September 6, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Deschamps is building on solid foundations and should try new combinations.

He could associate Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba, as he did in training on Sunday, with Benjamin Pavard on the right side and Eduardo Camavinga at left-back, a position he sometimes occupies at Real Madrid and where he has already played with the Blues.

Thursday against Ireland, it was Lucas Hernandez who replaced Ibrahima Konaté, forfeit, alongside Upamecano, who plays at Bayern Munich and attends the German internationals in the Bundesliga.

This time the siblings should not be renewed as against the Greens: Theo Hernandez trained apart on Sunday because of a slight pain in a calf, and if he is not worried, the staff of the Blues should not take a risk for a friendly match.

Randal Kolo Muani has been training hard, and after missing the first game with a sprained ankle, he could start at Dortmund.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt striker is competing with Marcus Thuram, another former Bundesliga, who has finally scored his first goal in Blue, to replace Olivier Giroud, injured early in the match against Ireland and forfeited.

Never without Griezmann

If Kolo Muani plays, he will meet his partner at Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappé, but perhaps not Ousmane Dembélé. "Ous'" could leave his place to Kingsley Coman, Munich like Upamecano.

French striker Antoine Griezmann training in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on September 10, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

In the middle, Antoine Griezmann should play his 80th consecutive match in Blue, a majuscule performance, well beyond the previous record, Patrick Vieira's 44 matches in a row between 1999 and 2002. Since the summer of 2017, the France team has never played without "Grizou".

For the 9th of his 122 caps, he finished in tears the quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup (1-0) at the Maracana. But since then the Blues have not lost against Germany, lining up four wins and two draws.

"Grizi" was still there for the last appearance of the German team at the top of football, the semi-final of Euro-2016 where he had signed a double, while the Blues had been clearly dominated in the first half.

Since then, Germany has plummeted. Now, it is the France that is scary, finalist of three of the last four major competitions, the Euro-2016 and the World Cups 2018 and 2022, while Germany has not even made it out of the pools in Russia or Qatar.

The Mannschaft has long held this role of scarecrow of world football, finalist eight times out of twelve between the World Cup-1974 and Euro-1996.

After suffering for decades against German footballers, from Sevilla 1982 to the Maracana 2014, the Blues are favorites of this 33rd France-Germany.

© 2023 AFP