As the dust settles on an enthralling World Cup which concluded merely a month and a half ago, the International elites braced themselves for another leg of competitive football, this time in the form of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.Kicking things off for the topmost division of the tournament - League A - were two European heavyweights who underwent contrasting narratives in Russia. Germany were looking for vindication following their group stage exit. France, on the other hand, were looking to hit the accelerator right from the get-go since their triumphant night at the Luzhniki.Didier Deschamps fielded the same side that drubbed Croatia 4-2 on 15th July with the exception of Hugo Lloris, who missed out with an injury and was replaced by debutant Alphonse Areola. Die Mannschaft took to life after Mesut Ozil as Joachim Low named a largely similar playing XI to the one that underperformed in Russia with Matthias Ginter being the only new face. Despite both teams having a decent set of chances, the game ended in a goalless draw, which by all means, was a fair result given the performance of either side on the night. Germany managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time in nine games, a silver lining for them.Let us now look at the five talking points from the game that transpired at the Allianz Arena in Munich.#1 A relaxed France and a cautious Germany on display in the first halfGiroud came close to scoring in the first halfGiven their fall from grace in epic proportions, it was expected that Die Mannschaft would play a conservative brand of football. What was not expected though, was Germany dominating the proceedings early on.Germany took the game to Les Bleus right from the kickoff. They showed the early impetus, held majority of the possession, maintained shape in midfield, and put the pressure on the visitors. France though were pretty comfortable in fending off the home side as they sat deep and conjured counter-attacks of their own. The home side never overcommitted on attack and were always wary of a possible break. This continued for the first half hour.Slowly but surely, the World Champions grew into the game. Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe brought out all the tricks and created a string of chances as we moved towards the close of the first half.The first 45 minutes did not yield any goals but France were arguably the better side at this juncture. It also gave us a view of the respective mindsets of the two teams coming into the game. France exuberated confidence on the back of their World Cup triumph. Germany on the other hand, displayed caution, yet had the drive to leave their demons behind and start afresh.