France v Germany: Euro 2020 – live!

78 min: Big shout for a France penalty! Pogba finds Mbappe, who plays the ball off to Benzema in the centre circle. He knows he can’t control it so he improvises (I think) an ingenious first-time push into the abundant space behind the defence. Mbappe again destroys Hummels, who had a five-yard start, and moves into the area. Hummels makes a desperate tackle from the side and Mbappe goes down. The referee moves his whistle towards his mouth… and then doesn’t blow it. Hummels definitely got the ball, but whether he came through Mbappe to do so is the issue. We haven’t seen a replay yet.

76 min A decent cross on the turn from Kimmich is claimed by Lloris. France haven’t quite declared at 1-0, but it’s fair to say a second goal is no longer their priority.

75 min “If Werner had been picked ahead of Gnabry,” begins Ian Copestake, “I guess Germany would still be playing with a false nine! I’m here all week. Try the schnitzel.”

Normally I wouldn’t allow cheap digs at such an admirable footballer, but the comic timing of that jaunty exclamation mark was too good.

74 min A double change for Germany: Werner, Sane replace Gnabry and Havertz.

72 min There’s a break in play because of what looks like a muscle injury to Ginter.

71 min This is a good spell for Germany, probably their best of the match. Timo Werner and Leroy Sane are about to come on.

69 min “Pavard just got knocked out (actually knocked out) and he’s still on,” says Frazier Stroud. “Genuinely dangerous that he’s still playing.”

I was so busy typing that I didn’t really see whether he was out cold, but the broader point, that head injuries aren’t taken seriously enough, is undeniable. It’s getting better, though not quickly enough.

66 min: Mbappe has a goal disallowed for offside! Ach, that’s a shame as it was a beautiful finish. Pogba reversed a majestic angled pass over the defence to Mbappe, who twisted his man inside out, then inside again before shaping a curler into the net off the far post. At that moment the flag went up, and replays confirmed he was offside when he received the pass from Pogba.

66 min Benzema cuts inside from the left and hits a rasping shot that is blocked.

64 min “As an entry in the annals of best-ever, what are your opinions on Makelele vs. Kante?” says Peter Turner. “Are they comparable players? Who was better? I never really got to see Makelele play. And who else should be considered?”

Makelele was much better at the deliberately clumsy foul. Kante’s tackles are much cleaner in both senses. My feeling is that Makelele was more consistent over a longer period, but at his peak Kante is superior. That said, there are folk who will have seen much more of them than I have.

The greatest defensive midfielder of all time is Obdulio Varela, but that’s another story.

60 min Pavard is still down, and in the current climate I’m surprised Gosens hasn’t been at least booked. It was vaguely reminiscent of, yep, Schumacher and Battiston. Pavard still has all his teeth but he may have to go off with either concussion or a jaw problem.

58 min Kimmich’s brilliant clipped cross is almost met by the flying Gosens, who arrives like a desperate superhero at the far post. Pavard heads it clear and is smashed in the face either by the knee or the hip of Gosens, who then falls over himself when he lands. A split-second later, Kroos’s long-range shot hits Gosens in the six-yard box. That wouldn’t have counted as Gosens had been rightly penalised for the challenge on Pavard.

58 min At times Germany have been a bit of a mess in this game, yet they could still have scored three or four. There’s a moral in that story, though I’ve no idea what it is.

57 min Gnabry runs onto Kimmich’s angled through ball from the right. He tries to go round the outrushing Lloris, who clears the ball with his thigh as he slides towards Gnabry. That was a crucial touch, without which Germany would have surely been given a penalty.

56 min Benzema pinches the ball off Kimmich and immediately plays it in behind for Mbappe on the left. He is unusually indecisive and the attacks peters out. Moments later, Muller’s snapshot is crucially blocked by a defender, Varane I think.

54 min: Great chance for Gnabry! Gosens breaks down the left and crosses deep to the unmarked Gnabry. He slightly mishits a volley into the ground that bounces over Lloris and onto the roof of the net. It should be 1-1, or 2-1 with Rabiot’s goal, it’s up to you.

52 min: Rabiot hits the post! It should be 2-0. Mbappe comes infield to receive possession, turns and flicks a gorgeous pass with the outside of the right foot to release Rabiot in the inside-left channel. He moves into the area, hesitates slightly and then curls a shot that hits the outside of the near post. He was under pressure by the time he had the shot but he should still have scored, or squared the ball for Griezmann to do so.

50 min Germany’s bench includes Timo Werner and Leroy Sane. They could also, as discussed, bring on someone like Lukas Klostermann and move Kimmich into midfield. They need to do something because at the moment France are in control.

48 min “I just can’t understand the roles of Kroos and Gundogan,” says Yash Gupta. “They need a Rodri/Casemiro type player beside them to succeed which can be played by Kimmich but he’s on right side. Too many times their left wing back thought of putting a cross in before realising not enough men to attack in the box. It’s not that Germany has played badly, but seeing the sight of Muller and Havertz occupying the same area, much like other midfielders, makes me wonder if a striker would be ideal to sort the midfield out.”

Pep just can’t resist tinkering in these big games, can he?

47 min Mbappe runs at a palpably terrified Hummels, twisting him one way and then the other before slightly overrunning the ball. In the end Hummels did well to force him wide, but there was a moment during the attack when, if I was Hummels, I’d have been sorely tempted to run straight off the field, down the tunnel, out of the ground and straight into permanent international retirement.

“I’m curious about Gavin’s message earlier (44 min),” says Hussain Cheema. “Did you have a look? Was Pogba’s pass intentional or not.”

I did. I still think he meant it, though I see what Gavin is saying. I just think he’s too good to misplace a pass as badly as that, and I think his little jump was more excitement than frustration with Mbappe. But only Pog knows.

“I can tell you that my French colleagues still discuss Battiston and Schumacher to this day,” says Chris Drew. “It still rankles. A lot.”

No offence, but as somebody who grew up in England, I find that a bit embarrassing.

“If only,” says Stuart Jenkinson, “there was a word to describe the pleasure derived from watching a highly accomplished, World-Cup winning defender score a Sunday-league-clogger own goal.”

Peep peep! The world champions lead through Mats Hummels’ unfortunate own goal. After a slow start, France were the more relaxed, authoritative side. Paul Pogba was excellent, and made the goal with a majestic/overhit pass, while N’Golo Kante was a disgraceful affront to centuries of human imperfection. Germany were a little more frantic, yet they still played pretty well and had chances to equalise. The second half won’t be dull.

45 min Kante is such a fascinating player. I can’t recall a defensive midfielder, ever, with his combination of speed, reading of the game, equanimity and clean tackling.

44 min “I’m pretty sure Pogba meant that pass for Mbappe,” says Gavin. “You could see he was about to curse himself before the ball reached Hernandez.”

That’s interesting, I’ll have a proper look at half-time. I learned the hard way at school that, when you mishit a cross from 40 yards out, you shouldn’t put up your hand in apology a split-second before it sails over the keeper’s head into the net.

43 min Kante is having another ridiculous game. While I was trying to describe the last two incidents, he made two or three interceptions that nobody on the else on the planet would have managed.

41 min Pavard’s cross is taken down on the chest by the unmarked Benzema at the near post, but his touch is slightly too heavy and that ruins any chance of a shot. Instead he lobs the ball back across the area and it’s cleared. For a player with Benzema’s lightness of touch (can a footballer have a velvet chest? They can now!) that was half a chance.

40 min Kimmich, who is on a yellow card, accidentally kicks Hernandez in the face as they wrestle for a loose ball. Hernandez goes down holding his face, but it doesn’t get the desired red card for Kimmich.

38 min: Chance for Gundogan! Gosens’ cross from the left takes a deflection and bounces towards Gnabry at the near post. He improvises an ingenious overhead flick to Gundogan, who bobbles a first-time shot well wide from 12 yards. Pogba did just enough to put him off but it was still a decent chance.

36 min Mbappe destroys Hummels in the inside-left channel, moves into the area and tries to pick out Benzema. Ginter makes a vital interception and knocks the ball behind for a corner. This is starting to look a bit ominous for Germany.

35 min Varane gets France out of a bit of trouble with some adroit footwork on the edge of his own area.

33 min Germany need to do something about Pogba, who is getting far too much time to spray passes left and right.

31 min I don’t know why I’m telling you this, as it’s a given on recent form, but N’Golo Kante is having a brilliant game. So is Paul Pogba, which isn’t such a sure thing but is a pleasure to watch when it does happen. There isn’t a huge amount between the teams but France are playing with greater confidence and authority.

28 min “What a pass from Pogba!!” says Ruth Purdue. It really was gorgeous.

27 min Germany have responded really well to going behind. Muller is fouled by Pogba 25 yards from goal. This time the free-kick is fractionally to the right of centre… and Kroos bends it over the bar.

25 min Kroos’s free-kick hits a leaping French player in the wall.

24 min Kante is penalised for a tackle on Gundogan 22 yards from goal. The free-kick is just to the left of centre, perfect for Toni Kroos.

23 min Hummels scored the only goal when Germany beat France in the World Cup quarter-final seven years ago. It’s a nightmare for him, especially after such a high-profile recall, but it was a great ball from Pogba and a really awkward cross by Hernandez.

22 min Germany almost equalise straight away, with Gosens’ cross headed wide by the stretching Muller. It was fractionally too high for him.

Pogba opened Germany up with a flipped crossfield pass to Hernandez on the left side of the area. He hammered the bouncing ball across the face of goal towards Mbappe, six yards out. Hummels got in front of Mbappe but couldn’t adjust his feet quickly enough and shinned it into the roof of his own net.

Mats Hummels gives France the lead!