( AFP) – Ahead of their World Cup quarter-final
clash at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro
on Friday, AFP Sport takes a look at. five past
meetings between European rivals France and
Germany:

Gothenburg, Sweden, June 28, 1958. World. Cup
third-place play-off: France 6-3 West Germany
West Germany’s reign as world champions had
been ended in a 3-1 defeat to hosts Sweden in
the semi-finals, and they missed out on third
place after being blown away by a prolific
French side.
France recovered from a 5-2 loss to Pele’s Brazil
in the semi-finals as Just Fontaine. scored four
times to finish the competition with a
remarkable 13 goals.
Raymond Kopa and Yvon Douis also netted for
Les Bleus, with Helmut Rahn on the scoresheet
for the Germans to finish level with Pele on six
goals.

February 23, 1977, Paris. France 1-0 West
Germany
West Germany were the World Cup holders
when they travelled to the French capital in
February 1977. The match proved to be the
great Franz Beckenbauer’s 103rd and last for
West Germany, but an inexperienced French
side ensured that the Kaiser bowed out with a
defeat.
Michel Hidalgo’s France team did not feature a
single player with more than 10 caps to his
name, but they ran out 1-0 winners, with
Olivier Rouyer scoring the only goal of the
encounter.

Seville, Spain, July 8, 1982. World Cup semi-
final: West Germany 3-3 France (aet – 1-1 after
90 minutes), West Germany won 5-4 on
penalties
Played in the steaming heat of Seville, this game
is one of the all-time classic World Cup
matches.
It is best remembered now for the shocking
challenge by German goalkeeper Harald
Schumacher on France’s Patrick Battiston that
left the latter unconscious and with damaged
vertebrae.
However, there was plenty of drama even
excluding that now infamous moment. Michel
Platini cancelled out Pierre Littbarski’s opener,
and Marius Tresor then struck the bar for
France right at the death.
In extra-time, goals by Tresor and Alain Giresse
succeeded in putting the French 3-1 up, only for
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Klaus Fischer to
hit back and force penalties. There, Didier Six
and Maxime Bossis both missed from 12 yards
and France crashed out.

Guadalajara, Mexico, June 25, 1986. World Cup
semi-final: France 0-2 West Germany

Four years later, the teams met again at the
same stage of the World Cup in Mexico. France
by now were reigning European champions,
but their stylish team, with Michel Platini
struggling due to a foot problem, again came
u ndone against the West Germans.
In a game that contrasted sharply with the
drama of Seville, chances were few and far
between and France failed to live up to their tag
of favourites, this game proving a step too far
after previous wins against holders Italy and
Brazil.
An early Andreas Brehme free-kick put the
Germans in front early on, and Rudi Voeller
clinched the win right at the end. However,
West Germay came unstuck against Diego
Maradona’s Argentina in the final.

Paris, February 6, 2013. France 1-2 Germany
France had gone unbeaten in six meetings with
Germany, all friendlies, since the fall of the
Berlin Wall. A German win was overdue and
they got it at the Stade de France in the most
recent clash of the nations, in February last
year.
Mathieu Valbuena gave France the lead just
before the interval, but Thomas Mueller
equalised early in the second half and Sami
Khedira went on to net the winner for Joachim
Loew’s side.
Of the French starting line-up that night, only
Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery, who is injured,
is not currently in Brazil. Eight of the German
team from that game are also in Brazil. www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/five-previous-france-versus-germany-clashes/