Midfield
Picking a midfield with so many great performances was a tough task and it ultimately boiled down to the best players in their respective positions. Which is why even though Mesut Ozil had a great game, he does not get a look in.
Toni Kroos ran the game for Germany making a match-high 95 passes. The set-piece expert also put in two accurate crosses into the box to trouble the French defence. He kept the ball ticking and looked for every weakness. In the absence of Sami Khedira, the onus was on him and Ozil to run the midfield and create chances. And Kroos made 3 key passes which Germany could not pounce on.
France were more than happy to concede possession to Germany while they looked to press and hit them on the counter. But their midfield duo of Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi linked defence with attack and looked to release their forwards at any given opportunity. Both players combined played seven long balls.
But it was their combined pressure that saw Kimmich make an error. Matuidi’s presence saw Kimmich turn away only to see Pogba nick the ball from him and eventually put in the cross that saw Manuel Neuer flap at it and lay it for Antoine Griezmann to pounce and score.
The French forward did not start the tournament well but suddenly found his form when he was deployed behind Olivier Giroud. The Arsenal striker has looked for him on every other occasion and found him in space, allowing the Atletico Madrid striker to finish the job.
A penalty and a poacher’s goal sees him top the goalscoring charts with six goals – a hat-trick away from equaling compatriot Michel Platini’s record of nine in a single tournament.
