Germans fight back to beat the French

PARIS: Real Madrid duo Mesut Oezil and Sami Khedira combined to devastating effect as Germany came from behind to beat France 2-1 in a heavyweight showdown here on Wednesday.

The last time France had lost to a German team was back in 1987, when Rudi
Voeller scored twice in a 2-1 West Germany victory.

It looked like Les Bleus' impressive run against their old foes would continue when Mathieu Valbuena headed the hosts in front at the Stade de France just before half time.

However, a cool finish from Thomas Mueller brought the visitors level within six minutes of the restart, and Joachim Loew's side then soaked up second-half pressure before securing a confidence-boosting win.

Defeated France coach Didier Deschamps said basic errors had cost them.

While the Germans were missing a whole host of regular starters, their's was still the more experienced of the two teams at international level.

The fact Germany had conceded a 4-4 draw with Sweden in their last competitive outing indicated that their defence is not as watertight as it has been in the past.(AFP)