Germany and France remain works in progress – Allofs

Former West Germany striker Klaus Allofs expects Friday’s friendly between France and Germany to be a prestigous affair but does not believe it will signal too much ahead of Euro 2016.

The sides meet at the Stade de France on Friday as the Euro 2016 hosts and the world champions continue their preparations for next year’s tournament.

Historically one of Europe’s premier rivalries, Wolfsburg sporting director Allofs does not feel either side are yet in their best form.

“France has had a very different preparation – they did not have to play the qualification matches of course,” he told Omnisport.

“If you play against Germany, you want to win. It is a match of prestige. I do not know whether you can already speculate about the upcoming months, I would rather believe that you choose the best way in order to reach a good result. 

“I don’t think that they are already in their championship shape, but neither are Germany. Many players are not playing in the friendly match who have played a lot so far. 

“So I would not say that this match predicts how these teams will do in the European Championship.”

While Germany coach Joachim Low could hand debuts to Leroy Sane and Kevin Trapp, Didier Deschamps has brought back Hatem Ben Arfa while calling up young winger Kingsley Coman – the Juventus man currently on loan at Bayern Munich.

Allofs feels France in particular are still finding the right formula ahead of the Euros on home soil next year.

“One of their strengths is that they have fantastic individual players. I think the problems are more in the combination game when it comes to connecting the different parts of the team,” he added.

“They need to find common ground and this can come in such a tournament. What we are seeing at the moment is that a new generation is developing, with young players joining the team.

“The question is now how far are they away? How far can they go together in a great tournament? Will Didier Deschamps place reliance upon experience or will the young players who are already play important roles in their clubs? 

“Will they play a decisive role in the tournament? Generally… they have very good individual players with extraordinary abilities.”