Kylian Mbappe scored his 50th international goal for France as they defeated Germany 2-0 in Stuttgart on Sunday to secure third place in the 2025 UEFA Nations League finals, Afrosport reports.
Les Bleus were beaten 5-4 by Spain in the semi-finals while Die Mannschaft lost 2-1 to Portugal in the other semi.
It was the French who were ahead in the race for the Nations League bronze medal when Mbappe coolly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen after he was set up by Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni in the 45th minute.
It was the 26-year-old’s 50th goal in his 90th cap for France, maintaining third spot on the nation’s all-time top scorers list, seven goals shy of leading scorer Olivier Giroud and two goals shy of surpassing Thierry Henry into second place.
50 goals in 90 caps 👏
Milestone for Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/e8lToEUSve
— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) June 8, 2025
The game remained 1-0 until the 84th minute when Mbappe ran clear of the German defence and Ter Stegen before laying the ball for Bayern Munich sensation Michael Olise to slot into an empty net.
It is the first competitive win of France against Germany since a 1-0 group stage win at the Euro 2020 championship in 2021.
The bronze is their second Nations League medal having won gold by defeating Spain in the 2021 final while Germany are yet to win any medal having gotten this far in the tournament for the very first time since it’s creation in 2019.
