On the other hand, Rüdiger won his two other ground battles and looked steady in a German defense that was not frequently penetrated by a French team that left Kylian Mbappé on the bench. Rüdiger was given a yellow card in the 55th minute for an ungainly challenge on Kingsley Coman.
Despite receiving criticism for his performance against Japan, which resulted in a humiliating loss, Rüdiger was back to his best against France. Randal Kolo Muani was handled superbly by him, losing just one of their four encounters.
A tie to Madrid in the French midfield
The Real Madrid players in the middle of the park were two of the standout performers on the French side. Unexpectedly, Adrien Rabiot and Eduardo Camavinga both began in the midfield three, together with Aurelién Tchouameni.
Camavinga, who had only recently made his debut against Ireland as a late replacement, was the guy at the center of the action. He was first in the statistics for both victories in duels (nine) and losses in duels (13). He completed three more dribbles than any other player and was crucial to Didier Deschamps’ system of ball advancement. He provided a progression when in possession of the ball that neither Tchouameni nor Rabiot could, providing a more immediate threat than their passing ranges.
It was again another outstanding performance from Tchouameni to keep up his early-season momentum. He completed all five of his long ball attempts, all but one of his 14 passes into the final third, and 93% of his passes overall. Furthermore, his performance against Ireland, which involved five shots in total and accounted for half of France’s six shots on goal, undoubtedly increased his confidence in front of goal.
He also won seven out of his eight duels while recovering the ball eight times. Germany attempted to clog up his space with offensively inclined midfielders, but it had little effect and Tchouameni was able to neutralize them with ease. Another flawless performance helped him cement his place on the team.
