In an international friendly held at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, on September 12, 2023, France's Antoine Griezmann found the net with a penalty kick against Germany's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, scoring their first goal. This marked a significant moment in the match.

As hosts of Euro 2024, Germany secured a 2-1 victory over France in the friendly match. This win not only snapped a three-game losing streak but also provided a much-needed boost of confidence for the team. The recent unfavorable performance had led to the dismissal of coach Hansi Flick on Sunday, making this victory even more crucial for the German squad.

Germany, under the temporary management of sports director Rudi Voeller, secured their first victory in six matches with goals from Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane at the beginning and end of the game. This marked a significant turnaround for the four-time world champions amidst a period of turbulence.
Although France, the runners-up of the 2022 World Cup, did not field their strongest team, opting to have captain and top striker Kylian Mbappe on the bench, Germany displayed a vastly improved performance compared to their 4-1 defeat to Japan on Saturday, which ultimately led to Flick's departure.
“For us it was clear we’d be running a lot today,” Mueller said. “It was a crazy situation in the past three days. But congratulations to Rudi and his staff on how they dealt with it.

“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 Mueller 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 Voeller, a 1990 World Cup winner who coached Germany from 2000-2004.