Alphonse Aréola stood out on his debut as World Cup winners France drew 0-0 with Germany in Munich on Thursday in their first game in the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Thursday, September 6 2018
UEFA Nations League League A, Group 1
Allianz Arena, Munich
Germany 0 – 0 France 
THE MATCH
Aréola was handed his first senior cap by Didier Deschamps with captain Hugo Lloris and his regular back-up Steve Mandanda both injured. That was the only change to the team that started the World Cup final win over Croatia in Moscow in July, as Les Bleus faced the 2014 world champions.
For all the talk of a new beginning for the Germans after their poor performance in Russia, all of coach Joachim Löw’s starting line-up had been at the World Cup. They struggled to make inroads in the first half, although Timo Werner did force a save from Aréola in the 18th minute.
It was Les Bleus who had the best chance of the opening period, as Olivier Giroud’s header from N’Golo Kanté’s cross was well saved by Manuel Neuer low down to his left (36′). The Bayern Munich ‘keeper was in fine form again after the interval, this time flying to his left to turn away Antoine Griezmann’s strike from long range (64’).
However, his opposite number Aréola really came to the fore seconds later at the other end as Marco Reus was denied after meeting a Matthias Ginter cross with a first-time shot. The Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper then excelled in the 75th minute as he clawed away a Ginter header.
That ensured that France came away with a share of the spoils from their first match in the competition. They now face the Netherlands – the third member of Group 1 in League A – at the Stade de France on Sunday in what will be their first home outing since winning the World Cup. Winning that one could be crucial to their chances of topping the three-team group and thereby advancing to the four-team finals tournament in June next year.
THE PLAYER: Alphonse Aréola
As the third-choice goalkeeper, Aréola was a non-playing member of the France squad at the World Cup. However, he finally won his first senior cap here due to injuries, and he showed Deschamps exactly what he can offer with some fine saves. It could become difficult for Lloris to get his place back if he performs like this again on Sunday against the Dutch.
THE STAT: 6
That was the total number of saves made by Aréola. No other French goalkeeper has done better in one game in the last 10 years.
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