Corentin Tolisso got his World Cup preparations off to a good start on Monday night as his France side beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Paris. The 23-year-old Bayern midfielder started for Didier Deschamps and made a real claim for a starting spot again in Russia during his 76 minutes of action. Les Bleus were easy winners with first-half goals from Olivier Giroud and Nabil Fekir.
Neuer back in goal
There was also good news from the Germany training camp in South Tyrol because Manuel Neuer is back! The 32-year-old played 30 minutes of the world champions’ internal friendly against the country’s U20s and did not concede in the 7-1 win for the senior side. It was the first match practice for the FCB captain since breaking his foot in September. Joshua Kimmich also enjoyed the game with a goal. The other strikes came from Julian Brandt, Leon Goretzka, Nils Petersen, Mario Gomez and Leroy Sane (2). According to Julian Draxler, the game behind closed doors was about “getting a bit of competitive practice.”
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