Wirtz, Havertz shine as Germany stun France 2-0 in friendly

Florian Wirtz made history by scoring the fastest goal ever recorded in German football, as Germany defeated 2022 FIFA World Cup runner-up France 2-1 at the Groupama Stadium.

Florian Wirtz's first international goal is the fastest goal in Germany's history (7 seconds).

And what a strike it was. 😍 pic.twitter.com/UTuVfQyuEP

— Squawka (@Squawka) March 23, 2024

After Toni Kroos set Wirtz up for the opener inside the opening seven seconds, France unsurprisingly caught off guard by their opponents’ lightning-quick start, struggled to regain their composure in the face of relentless pressure.

Despite eventually settling into the game, they found it challenging to breach Marc-André ter Stegen’s goal.

The Blues had opportunities to secure an equaliser, but captain Kylian Mbappé squandered a golden opportunity with a wayward volley, while Adrien Rabiot’s close-range header sailed over the bar.

After a lacklustre first half, Nagelsmann’s squad wasted no time in asserting their dominance after the break.

Just over three minutes into the second half, Kai Havertz leveraged Jamal Musiala’s brilliance to extend Germany’s lead with a simple tap-in.

Though France mustered some threatening chances through Aurélien Tchouaméni and Ousmane Dembélé, Germany maintained control of the game.

A superb save from Brice Samba denied Maximilian Mittelstädt a debut goal, while Deniz Undav was thwarted by the French goalkeeper late on in the match.

Despite Samba’s heroics, France suffered their second defeat in ten matches since the World Cup final, both at the hands of Germany.

Julien Nagelsmann’s Germany on the other hand put an end to a three-game winless streak, as they continue to gather momentum ahead of the UEFA European Championships this summer.