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About the new tournament
The UEFA Nations League is a replacement for the usual round of international friendlies interspersed between throughout the league season.
All the 55 member nations of UEFA have been divided into a number of groups for the competition, based on their current results, and will be promoted or relegated accordingly.
Currently, the teams have been drafted into four divisions or leagues: League A with 12 teams, League B with 12 teams, League C with 15 teams and League D with 16 teams.
The Nations League also provides an opportunity for a team to qualify to the UEFA European Championship scheduled for 2020.
Each team playing in the UEFA Nations League is in contention to win a prize money which differs for each league in the following way:
- .€1.5 mil for winners of League A
- €1 mil for winners of League B
- €0.75 mil for winners of League C
- €0.5 mil for winners of League D
Match overview -- France vs Germany
Reigning World Champions France will face the champions of the 2014 edition, Germany, in the first League A match to kick off the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
France will depend on the likes of Griezmann, Pogba, Mbappe for this match. On the other side, the Germans will hope senior players such as Reus, Muller, and Kroos take the front seat and give them a headstart in the league by winning their first fixture.
Ahead of the clash, France Coach Deschamps said, "It will be difficult but we have the advantage with the confidence from the (World Cup) title... Germany were world champions. Germany were favourites at this World Cup as well... It did not work out for them but the quality is there. They remain a top level team. I have a lot of respect for this team and for what it represents."
Germany after its early exit in the World Cup will try its best to return to winning ways.
Important Stats
The last match between the two giants was a friendly draw which saw a goal each from Timo Werner and Lars Stindl for Germany and an Alexandre Lacazette brace for France
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann scored two goals against Germany in the Euro 2016 semis, when the two teams last met in a major competition.
Germans last beat Les Bleus when Bayern's Mats Hummels scored the winning goal in the quarter-final of 2014 World Cup.
France lead Germany in the head-to-head record as they have won 13 and lost only 9 times out of the 29 games between the two nations.
Team News
For France, Captain Hugo Lloris will be missing through an injury, along with reserve goalkeeper, Steven Mandanda.
Germany will be without Mesut Ozil after his retirement from international duty. Khedira, Rudy, Plattenhardt, Trapp, and Hector have also been dropped for this match.
Predicted Lineups:
FRANCE (4-3-3): Areola, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez, Pogba, Kante, Matuidi, Griezmann, Giroud, Mbappe.
Coach: Didier Deschamps
GERMANY (4-1-4-1): Neuer, Schulz, Hummels, Boateng, Kimmich, Kroos, Reus, Goretzka, Gundogan, Muller, Werner.
Coach: Joachim Löw
