Germany legend Rudi Voller leads them to an impressive 2-1 victory over France as interim manager – 19 years after he quit the top job – with Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane on target just days after Hansi Flick was sacked

• Germany sacked manager Hansi Flick on Sunday after a dreadful run of form 
• They finally returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over France on Tuesday 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ 

Euro 2024 hosts Germany beat France 2-1 in a friendly on Tuesday as caretaker boss and national icon Rudi Voller helped them to end a three-game losing streak.

The victory also enabled the Germans to regain some confidence following a bad run which led to the sacking of coach Hansi Flick on Sunday.

Goals from Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane at the start and end gave Germany, managed by sporting director Voller for the game, their first win in their last six matches and capped a turbulent few days for the four-times world champions.

While France, 2022 World Cup runners-up, did not field their strongest team, with captain and top striker Kylian Mbappe on the bench, Germany’s overall performance was far improved from Saturday’s 4-1 home loss to Japan that led to Flick’s departure.

‘For us it was clear we’d be running a lot today,’ Muller said. ‘It was a crazy situation in the past three days. But congratulations to Rudi and his staff on how they dealt with it.

Germany finally returned to winning ways with a 2-1 friendly victory over France on Tuesday

Thomas Muller opened the scoring to help Germany win for the first time in six matches

Leroy Sane added a second late on to secure the victory, despite a late French consolation goal

MATCH FACTS

GERMANY (4-2-3-1): Ter Stegen; Henrichs (Gosens 78), Sule, Tah, Rudiger; Gundogan (Gross 25), Can; Sane, Wirtz (Hofman 78), Gnabry (Brandt 64); Muller (Havertz 64) 

Substitutes not used: Trapp, Baumann, Kimmich, Nmecha, Schade, Schlotterbeck, Thiaw 

Scorer: Muller 4, Sane 87

Booked: Gross, Rudiger 

Manager: Rudi Voller

FRANCE (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Pavard (Kounde 65), Saliba, Todibo, T Hernandez; Rabiot (Fofana 78), Camavinga; Griezmann, Tchouameni, Coman (Dembele 64); Kolo Muani (Thuram 64)

Substitutes not used: Areola, Samba, Disasi, L Hernandez, Kamara, Mbappe, Upamecano  

Scorers: Griezmann 89 Pen

Booked: None

Manager: Didier Deschamps

Referee: Anthony Taylor

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‘We did what we had to, we worked hard and we were rewarded for it. We should not read too much into this win but for us it was a small emotional release.’

The Germans, who had won four of their previous 17 matches before Tuesday, are desperate to create a buzz for next year’s tournament among home fans, and they set out to restore their tarnished image as a football powerhouse.

They pressed high and were rewarded when veteran Muller rifled home from inside the box in the fourth minute for his 45th international goal after a fine 13-pass move.

The French gradually found their way into the game and grew more dangerous, with Randal Kolo Muani and Aurelien Tchouameni piling pressure on the home defence.

Tchouameni’s low drive in the 57th forced a good save from Marc Andre ter Stegen, who also denied Antoine Griezmann in the 82nd by tipping his shot over the bar.

Sane then completed a quick break to score in the 87th before bringing down Marcus Thuram two minutes later for a penalty, with Griezmann cutting the deficit for the visitors.

‘It is important for the players, the federation to play like that, especially in the first half it was a top performance,’ Voeller said.

‘It was a relief for all of us. It just feels good especially after the recent defeats,’ added Voller, a 1990 World Cup winner who coached Germany from 2000 to 2004 before resigning after a group stage exit at Euro 2004. 

Germany were being led by interim coach and sporting director Rudi Voller (right) after Hansi Flick was sacked on Sunday following a dismal run of form 

Antoine Griezmann netted from the spot late on in the game after Marcus Thuram was fouled 

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

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It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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