Mats Humbled!

Munich, June 16

Mats Hummels’ return to the national team went better for France than it did for Germany. The experienced defender was recalled by Germany coach Joachim Low for the European Championship for his leadership qualities, but he ended up scoring an own goal Tuesday to give France a 1-0 victory.

“It was a struggle between titans,” France coach Didier Deschamps said.

Hummels was attempting to stop Lucas Hernandez’s cross from reaching France forward Kylian Mbappe when he diverted the ball into his own net with his shin in the 20th minute.

“I can’t fault him,” Low said. “It’s just bad luck. The ball in was fast. Maybe we should have attacked the throw in quicker. But it was hard for Mats to clear the ball.” There were chances at both ends, but France looked more likely to score while Germany squandered opportunities. Ilkay Gundogan should have scored in the first half but couldn’t direct his shot on target.

Before the match started, a Greenpeace protester parachuted into the stadium. UEFA said there were some injuries. Germany next face Portugal, who defeated Hungary 3-0 with two record-setting goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. France will play the Hungarians in Budapest.

Russians rebound

St Petersburg: Russia’s Aleksei Miranchuk scored a stunning first half stoppage time winner against Finland today to put his team’s campaign back on track with a 1-0 victory that keeps Group B wide open.

Man-of-the-match Miranchuk scooped his shot into the far top corner as Russia, unbeaten against Finland since their first meeting in 1912, made amends for their loss to Belgium with their first win in their last seven matches at Euro finals. — Agencies