Julian Nagelsmann is expected to make wholesale changes, including a change of formation, for Germany’s UEFA Nations League third-place play-off game against France. After fielding a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 in their defeat against Portugal, Nagelsmann is expected to experiment with a 4-2-2-2.
Waldemar Anton will lose his place in defence with David Raum coming in for Maximilian Mittelstädt. Pascal Groß will take Aleksandar Pavlović’s place and operate in a double-pivot alongside Leon Goretzka while Karim Adeyemi is also expected to start.
In attack, Niclas Füllkrug should start a game for Germany for the first time since September 2024. The West Ham forward suffered an achilles injury during the season and was sidelined from Germany’s semi-final win over Italy owing to a hamstring injury. But who starts alongside the 32-year-old remains to be seen. Nick Woltemade made his debut against Portugal but was largely uninspiring while Deniz Undav remains the likely option, but Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry could also be tested alongside Füllkrug.
Probable Germany XI vs France
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Robin Koch, David Raum – Pascal Groß, Leon Goretzka – Florian Wirtz, Karim Adeyemi – Deniz Undav, Niclas Füllkrug.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
