Germany aim to confirm impressive France win against the Dutch

Germany will want to prove on Tuesday against the Netherlands that their impressive 2-0 triumph in France was no fluke but really a return to former greatness ahead of its hosting of the European championships in summer.

"That was exactly the game we've been waiting for. Now we have to follow up on Tuesday," sporting director Rudi Völler said.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann said that Germany will be "on the road to the European championship" with another strong performance against the Dutch in Frankfurt.

Nagelsmann appears to have done everything right with a major squad overhaul and giving his players clear roles as they delivered in Lyon with a classy display on Saturday night.

A national record goal from Florian Wirtz after seven seconds helped sooth any nerves, and, after withstanding a period of sustained pressure from Kylian Mbappe's Euro favourites, Germany led by returning midfielder Toni Kroos dominated the second half and scored again from Kai Havertz.

The win came just at the right time in the first game of the year, but needs to be confirmed against the Dutch in Frankfurt, to make the painful past years with early World Cup exits and just three wins from 11 games in 2023 forgotten and generate more excitement for the Euros.

"A triumph for Julian Nagelsmann," the digital Sunday edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung said.

"The German team did not perform like a team suffering from its recent continued failures, but instead showed that it has a lot of skill in its ranks and at the same time the necessary competitive toughness."

The Bild paper delighted in "what a start into the year of the Euros" and France coach Didier Deschamps praised the winners as "very aggressive and very focussed."

Kicker sports magazine said that the team "doesn't immediately rise from a 'crisis case' to co-favourite, but together with its boss sent out exactly the signal that the more than 80 million national coaches have been waiting for ahead of the next home game against the Netherlands."

Former Germany captain and 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus was also duly impressed, saying in his Sky TV column: "This team has all it takes to become European champions."

Nagelsmann had given out the motto "we kick" for the two games and that's what his team with debutant left back Maximilian Mittelstädt - and his fellow maiden cap Stuttgart team-mates Deniz Undav and Waldemar Anton later on - did with a lightness and joy not seen in a long time.

"It was the best we have played in the past years. That felt really good," Völler said.

Nagelsmann said: "Big compliments to the team. I'm very satisfied, also with the way the team performed. It was a really great game."

The 2014 World Cup winner and Real Madrid veteran Kroos, back from almost three years of international retirement, added that "we have taken a good and important step forwards.

"We all realised that the international matches were the last chance to do this before the European Championships. It worked well today. A few things were changed, so the question was whether it could bear fruit so quickly. We had a good week of training and were able to carry that over into the game."

Kroos pulled the strings in midfield as if he had never been away, Joshua Kimmich stood his ground against Mbappe after being moved from midfield to right back, and the defence organized by Antonio Rüdiger and Jonathan Tah secured a first clean sheet in 12 months.

Up front youngsters Wirtz and Jamal Musiala were a constant menace as the lived up to Nagelsmann's billing as "magicians."

What the victory is worth will be seen on Tuesday against the Dutch who for their part on Friday claimed a 4-0 triumph over Scotland, who will be Germany's opponent in the Euro 2024 tournament opener on June 14.

"Regardless of the opponent, it's first and foremost about the manner. We'll want to see that courage on the pitch again against Holland," Nagelsmann said.