Mbappé Hits 50th Goal as France Beat Germany in Nations League
Kylian Mbappé reached a major career milestone on Sunday, scoring his 50th international goal as France defeated Nations League hosts Germany 2-0 in the third-place play-off in Stuttgart.
The France captain opened the scoring just before half-time, clinically finishing in the 45th minute after being set up by new Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni.
The goal marked Mbappé’s half-century in international football, further cementing his place among the game’s elite.
Late in the second half, Mbappé turned provider. Capitalizing on a defensive blunder by Germany’s Robin Koch, he unselfishly squared the ball to Michael Olise, who calmly slotted into an open net to seal the win for Les Bleus with just six minutes left on the clock.
Germany, however, created multiple chances and were twice denied by VAR.
Karim Adeyemi thought he had earned a penalty after going down under a challenge from French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but a video review overturned the decision and Adeyemi was instead booked for simulation.
Later, Deniz Undav had the ball in the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR check that found Niclas Füllkrug had fouled Adrien Rabiot in the buildup.
Despite the controversy, Germany remained dangerous throughout. Adeyemi had three shots saved by Maignan—who continues to attract interest from Chelsea—while Florian Wirtz rattled the post.
France also came close to extending their lead on multiple occasions, with Marcus Thuram hitting the woodwork and Mbappé testing Marc-André ter Stegen with a powerful strike and missing narrowly on other occasions.
Germany’s head coach Julian Nagelsmann expressed his frustration after the match, pointing out his team’s inability to convert early dominance into goals.
“We should have been up 3-0 after six minutes,” Nagelsmann said in a post-match interview. “Instead, we went into the break trailing. We lost our shape too quickly in the second half and made too many errors. France punished us.”
The result leaves Germany without a win in their last three matches, including a semi-final loss to Portugal earlier in the week. France, meanwhile, salvaged some pride with the bronze medal finish.
The tournament concludes later on Sunday night, as Spain and Portugal face off in Munich for the Nations League title.
Mbappé Hits 50th Goal as France Beat Germany in Nations League