Germany 0-0 France: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#4 Should Rudiger have been sent off?

Pavard tackles Rudiger

Antonio Rudiger is definitely a much better player right now than what he was a year ago. He is more composed on the ball, brings aggressiveness to the table, and has great aerial ability.

Tonight though, Rudiger played the role of a left-back as opposed to his favoured position of a centre-back. By no means was Rudiger poor on the night. He linked up with Werner well, contained Mbappe to a fair extent, and made his presence felt on set pieces. But there was one incident during the match which involved him and Benjamin Pavard which went rather unnoticed by the officials.

It was only the third minute of the game when Rudiger was in possession high up the pitch near France's penalty box and he decided to charge forward. Pavard made a sliding tackle to halt the German but was seemingly caught by Rudiger's boots and went down.

Watch as Rudiger leaves a horrible scar on Pavar's throat! https://t.co/f3BFmj2kCv

— Livfooty (@Livfooty1) September 6, 2018

What initially looked like an exaggeration of sorts by the Stuttgart player, after replays looked like a deliberate move by Rudiger as he caught Pavard's neck with his studs twice. The referee and the assistants completely failed to spot the incident. Rudiger walked away without being penalized for a challenge that seemingly deserved a straight red card.

An expulsion so early on in the game would have easily tilted things in France's favour and the end result could have been a lot different.