After a ferocious comeback, three Bayern players will be fighting for the UEFA Nations League title with France on Sunday! L'Équipe defeated Belgium 3-2 (0-2) in the semi-finals in Turin on Thursday evening. Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernández started for the world champions, with Dayot Upamecano in the squad but not involved.
Pure ecstasy: Benjamin Pavard celebrates with his team-mates after reaching the final of the UEFA Nations League.
However, the Bavarian defenders had to cope with going behind after a Belgian double-strike by Yannick Carrasco (37') and Romelu Lukaku (41'). Karim Benzema (62') and Kylian Mbappé (69'(p)) helped the French come back after the break, before Hernández was able to prove that he can always rely on his family: His brother Theo fired the ball into the net from a good 25 metres in injury time (90+2') to give Les Bleus victory. France will now play Spain (20:45 CEST in Milan) on Sunday evening in an attempt to win the Nations League for the first time.
Tillman scores on Germany U21 debut
A dream debut capped by a first goal for Malik Tillman at U21 level: The FC Bayern youngster scored in the 3-2 (1-1) win for the DFB's age-group side against Israel in the European Championship qualifiers on Thursday evening, hitting the target to make the score 1-1 (34'). For the 19-year-old, the match in Paderborn was his first appearance in this age group.
Successful debut for the U21s: Malik Tillman scored the goal to make it 1-1 against Israel in the 34th minute.
It was a first match in charge for U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo, who incidentally began his playing career at the end of the last millennium with FC Bayern, and the DFB team had to come from behind twice after conceding goals to Israel's Doren Leidner (28') and Omri Gandelmann (51'). Thanks to an energetic performance, the Germany U21s fought their way back and managed to win the game courtesy of quick-fire late goals by Kevin Schade (88') and Jonathan Burkhardt (90+4'). The DFB Juniors now lead their qualifying group with a maximum nine points from three games. The Germans will meet Hungary in their next qualifying match in Szeged on Tuesday.
Important point for Davies and Canada
A deadly pass from Alphonso Davies secured Canada an important point in World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022 on Friday night. In the hotly-anticipated clash between Canada and Mexico, the Bayern left-back was pivotal in Canada's goal, with a clever forward pass that set up Jonathan Osorio's 42nd-minute strike to make it 1-1. Before that, Jorge Sanchez (21') had given the home side the lead at the legendary Aztec Stadium.
As always, difficult to take the ball off him: Canada's Alphonso Davies in the World Cup qualifier in Mexico.
It was Davies' seventh assist for his side in 2021, adding to his national men's record for most assists for Canada in a calendar year. The Canadians thus remain undefeated in their group stage after four games and are still in a promising position, in third with six points. As things stand, they'll qualify for the next World Cup. Davies and Co. now play bottom side Jamaica on Monday night.
Draw for Nianzou against Tunisia
Tanguy Nianzou and the French U20 side drew 1-1 (1-1) with the Tunisia U20s in Fos-sur-Mer on Thursday evening. The 19-year-old Bayern player featured the full 90 minutes. Adil Aouchiche gave the world champions' youngsters the lead in the 28th minute of the friendly, but Farouk Mimouni equalised just ten minutes later for the North African side. The two teams will meet again in three days' time - the friendly kicks off on Sunday (15:00CEST) in Mallemort.
A whopping 18 Bayern players were picked for their national team:
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