With their ticket to the European Champions in France this summer secured, the DFB team turn their attention to tournament preparation – and the first test is a real classic. In the Stade de France, the location of the final of EURO 2016, Germany face France at 21:00 CET. DFB.de have all the facts ahead of the match.
Records I: The match in Paris against France in Germany’s 907th match in history. They have recorded 527 wins, 183 draws and 196 losses since the first match on the 5th April 1908. The goal difference from all 905 games, in which 917 players have been involved, is 2037 for and 1076 against.
Records II: Joachim Löw is taking charge of the German side for the 127th time since his debut as head coach in August 2006. His record stands at 85 wins, 22 draws and 19 defeats. Throughout these 126 matches, Löw has used 101 players and given 76 players international debuts. Liverpool’s Emre Can was the most recent and 76th debutant and was introduced in the 3-1 match against Poland on the 4th September this year. Kevin Trapp from Paris St. Germain and Leroy Sané from FC Schalke 04 will be hoping to increase this number against France tomorrow.
Records III: This will be the 27th meeting between Germany and France in total. They have only faced Switzerland (51), the Netherlands (40), Austria (39), Sweden (36), England (33) and Italy (32) more often in their 108-year history. Germany have won nine of the previous meetings, six have been drawn and eleven have gone the way of France. The last meeting was in the World Cup quarterfinal, and ended 1-0 to Germany after a Mats Hummels header – an important win on the way to a fourth star. The most recent encounter in the Stade de France also had a positive outcome for Germany. On the 6th February 2013, Thomas Müller and Sami Khedira both scored in a 2-1 friendly win.
Records IV: In previous World Cup meetings, wins over France have led to Germany reaching the final, with them claiming the World Cup three times, and coming second on two occasions. In 1986 and 1982, the DFB team triumphed over France at the semi-final stage, before losing in the final. In 1958, Germany lost to France 3-6, but they were not able to stop Germany reaching the final, as it was just the third-place playoff. The two teams have never faced each other at the European Championships.
Journey to the EUROs: The world champions qualified for the tournament with seven wins, one draw and two defeats in Group D. The hosts France qualified automatically.
Cause for celebration: World Cup winner Andre Schürrle is on the cusp of making his 50th appearance for Germany. The 25-year-old made his debut on the 17th November in a 0-0 draw against Sweden. Sebastian Rudy and Jonas Hector will be hoping to make their 10th appearances. Lukas Podolski is two goals away from his 50th international goal.
Record number of appearances: Lothar Matthäus is still leading the table, after making 150 appearances between 1980 and 2000. Lukas Podolski is his closest rival with 126, and then Bastian Schweinsteiger with 113.
Record number of goals: Miroslav Klose is leading the standings with 71 goals, just ahead of the legendary Gerd Müller with 68. Müller played only 62 international matches, compared to Klose's 137. Podolski is leading the current crop of players with 48 goals. Thomas Müller is second with 30, ahead of returning player Mario Gomez (25).
Kits: Germany will run out in their new kits for the first time against France on Friday. They have stuck with tradition, going with a classic black and white. France will play in their familiar blue kits.