The Scotsman

Low: France favourites for Munich clash

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Germany head coach Joachim Low has admitted France will be favourites when the two giants of European football meet in Munich tonight for the first game of Uefa’s new Nations League tournament.

The sides had widely contrastin­g experience­s at the World Cup this summer, with Low’s 2014 champions meekly retreating after the group stage, while Didier Deschamps’ men marched all the way to glory in Moscow.

Low said: “The world champions are here [tonight], we are not favourites, we lost the World Cup in the first round. Of course, we will do everything we can to beat France but it’s a process, the European Championsh­ip in 2020 is the key and that’s where we are aiming.”

Deschamps has only made two changes to the 23 who won in Russia: goalkeeper­s Alphonse Areola and Benjamin Lecomte coming in for the injured Hugo Lloris and Steven Mandanda.

Deschamps said: “I don’t see being world champions as a burden but as something wonderful, but we won’t dwell on that. We’re already thinking ahead.”

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