France and Germany have made it through to the knockout rounds, but didn’t quite show the football people had expected from them during the group stages.
Les Bleus put in the effort and played with passion. Didier Deschamps tried different tactics and rotated players, but their results weren’t really that good – two last-minute winners against Romania and Albania (I doubt these two would have qualified for the tournament, if the rules hadn’t been changed) and a boring 0-0 draw against Switzerland. France’s stars Antoine Griezzman and Paul Pogba played below their usual standards, while Dimitri Payet unexpectedly became the leader.
Germany also had troubles with scoring goals and creating chances, as their lack of a clinical striker, someone like Miroslav Klose, became increasingly apparent. Joachim Löw doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Mario Gomez: he left him behind in 2014 and hasn’t given him much time here in France, preferring Mario Götze as a false nine. The loss of Marco Reus due to injury has also cut their attacking options. However, I didn’t get the impression the Germans were giving their best at the group stage. Löw is an experienced national team coach, who knows how to bide his time and build momentum, getting more and more from his team as the tournament goes on.
Worse-than-expected performances from the tournaments first and second favourites has made the odds on their wins against Ireland and Slovakia higher than usual. Their victories in the 90 minutes are both paid at 4/9. Put these together and you get a nice looking double at a shade over even money.
The Germans weren’t overly impressive, nor did they seem that confident during the World Cup group stages two years ago, but went on to be champions. Low’s side will definitely be better against Slovakia and they really ought to be winning this game. Whereas France, as hosts, won’t want to do it the hard way and are likely to really attack their last 16 tie, playing on the front foot. Against the oldest team at the euros – who arguably only got into the knockout stages because Italy fielded reserve players in the last match group match – the hosts should be able to paint themselves in a good light and win the match without too much fuss. This will be as good a chance as any for France’s key players, Pogba and Griezmann, to announce themselves at this tournament.
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