GERMANY 11 FRANCE 16

Match heroes
One of France’s leading stars heading into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Thomas Vernoux (pictured), stepped up in the second half, scoring a hat-trick in the third quarter and two more in the fourth for a match-high five. Captain Ugo Crousillat scored three in the middle periods while Romain Marion Vernoux and Mehdi Marzouki netted twice each. For Germany, Denis Strelezkij scored three goals in the last five minutes; Lukas Kuppers, Mateo Cuk and Marin Restovic all scored twice.

Turning point
The second and third quarters are what killed Germany after a 2-2 first period. The match was even at 3-3 a minute into the second quarter and then France shot to 6-3 with two extra-man goals before Germany’s new head coach, former Yugoslavian and Montenegrin mastermind Petar Porobic called a timeout. No goal came from the ploy and, in fact, France enjoyed a penalty attempt, which Crousillat converted.

Kuppers scored his first goal on an extra-man attack for 7-4 at the long break. France went to 9-4, 10-5 and 12-6 and 13-7 to close the third period, a lead that was far too big for Germany to bridge. The margin became bigger at 16-8, giving France the honour of the final three goals showing Germany’s resolve.

Stats don’t lie
Both teams scored eight goals on an extra-man attack with Germany doing it from 14 attempts and France from 15. France also scored two penalty goals.

Bottom line
France has been honing its teams for some time because of Paris 2024 while Germany has undergone changes with Hagen Stamm retiring and Porobic taking over the reins. The effervescent Marko Stamm still captains the team and produced the 1-1 equaliser. These matches will prove a huge boost for Germany as it views to make the leading teams in Europe and regain the world stage.