Enlarge image

Toni Kroos as the old and new boss in midfield

Photo: Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images

Scene of the game:

You didn't have to wait long for them. The DFB team's kick-off as a rehearsed scene was something we hadn't seen in ages. Returnee Toni Kroos served as a through pass to Florian Wirtz who ran into the gap. He took a free-standing shot, the French hadn't sorted themselves out yet, and the score was already 0-1. After eight seconds. The fastest goal in DFB history, Lukas Podolski broke his record from 2013. This move will probably soon be printed on T-shirts. A nice task for Adidas.

Result of the game:

France is increasingly turning out to be the DFB's development opponent. In September, the team under one-day national coach Rudi Völler won 2-1 after the Hansi Flick sadness, and now Nagelsmann's team won 2-0 in the first international match after the low blow against Austria in November. A quick hit in the first half, a quick hit in the second half. Iconoclast Julian Nagelsmann's team has made a successful start to the European Championship year. A national team freed from the ice. Hope and happiness green in the valley. Click here for the match report.

The first half:

The eight-second goal. It would even have been a world record for international matches if Austria's Christoph Baumgartner hadn't scored for Ralf Rangnick's team just a few hours earlier against Slovakia after seven seconds. They just don't begrudge us anything. The French responded furiously to the lightning deficit and had their chances, especially through Kylian Mbappé, but a strong goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and a very aggressive defense this time ensured that the lead remained until the break.

The second half:

What worked in the first half can only be good for the second half. This time, however, an agonizingly long four minutes passed before Kai Havertz made it 2-0 after elegant preparatory work by Jamal Musiala. The French seemed to have had their teeth pulled and from now on an effective DFB team dominated. It only got tighter again in the final phase. But at the latest when Antonio Rüdiger steered the ball onto his own crossbar with a tackle on the goal line to prevent debutant Maximilian Mittelstädt from scoring an own goal, you knew that nothing could go wrong that evening.

Duel of the game:

Kylian Mbappé is undisputedly the best (and most expensive) attacker in the world at the moment, his approaches, his feints, his speed, his wealth of tricks. That evening he met Joshua Kimmich, who had once again been trained as a full-back. And what must say? The longer the game lasted, the more the superstar found his master in the Bayern professional. In the end, Mbappé didn't feel like it anymore, and you couldn't pay Kimmich a higher compliment.

Player of the game:

Toni Kroos made his 107th international appearance after all. It was the strong comeback the 34-year-old had hoped for. As a ball distributor, as the man with an overview, he brought in all of his proven and mature qualities. 52 years ago, in the spring before a European Championship, the DFB team played an away game against a top European team. Germany played against England at Wembley, it was the birth of a great team. Afterwards, the famous sentence was born in football literature: And Netzer came from the depths of the room. On Saturday evening, Toni Kroos came out of the depths of the room.

Clothes test of the game:

Germany in Adidas jerseys beats France in Nike uniforms. Robert Habeck, take over.

Purely a matter of negotiation:

Before the game, DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf announced that they would "not ignore" national coach Julian Nagelsmann's wish to enter into contract talks before the European Championship. After all, the DFB has experience with extending the national coach's contract before a tournament. With Joachim Löw they extended before the Russia World Cup, with Hansi-Flick before Qatar. In any case, the national coach's negotiating situation has not worsened since that evening.

Quote from the game:

"This is the old Germany I know again." ZDF expert Christoph Kramer was reminded of old times after just 20 minutes. And remembering is one of his strengths.

Insight from the game:

Germany should now be confirmed as the future European champions. This should now be clear to the last person. The sentence will be submitted again on Tuesday after the next tough test against the Netherlands.