Thomas Mueller scored a hat-trick as Germany beat Portugal 4-0 in an action-packed World Cup Group G match in Salvador, on Monday.
Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund struggled to a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg on Saturday that ended their perfect start to the season of five straight league wins.
The 55 teams have been divided into 10 groups of five or six, and the top two teams in each qualify directly.
Germany coach Joachim Loew has been forced to make changes to his team for Thursday's semi-final against hosts France at Euro 2016 because of injuries and a suspension, including replacing key goalscorer Mario Gomez.
Borussia Dortmund completed their spectacular implosion this season, losing 2-1 at struggling Werder Bremen.
It was N'Golo Kante, who at the age of 30 appears to be elevating his games to new levels, who knitted the French team together during their Group F match against Germany on Tuesday.
Borussia Dortmund bounced back after slumping to their fourth straight Bundesliga defeat against Hanover 96 at the weekend, cruising past second tier St Pauli 3-0 on Tuesday to reach the German Cup third round.
The game in front of 57,000 fans in Hamburg's Volksparkstadion started 15 minutes late due to heavy traffic and long queues for increased security checks following the attacks that left 130 dead and hundreds injured in the French capital last week.
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is ready to play the mentor's role irrespective of who leads the team in their Euro 2016 opener against Ukraine on Sunday.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Kovac, who succeeded the retired Jupp Heynckes, surprisingly put Germany international Mats Hummels on the bench and partnered Jerome Boateng with Niklas Suele in central defence.
Germany's Leon Goretzka scored two expertly-taken early goals to set them on the way to a thumping 4-1 win over Mexico in a dramatic, end-to-end Confederations Cup semi-final on Thursday.
Leon Goretzka's 86th minute goal gave Bayern Munich a 2-1 victory over visitors Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, meaning they need to win just one of their last three matches to secure the Bundesliga title.
Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on penalties to win the German Cup for the 18th time on Saturday, handing coach Pep Guardiola another domestic double in his final game in charge.
Substitute Lukas Podolski grabbed an 81st-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw for 2014 World Cup winners Germany in an entertaining friendly.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Bundesliga and La Liga.
In the history of football there has been no more devastating nullification of supposed home advantage than Germany's 7-1 humbling of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, so playing France in Marseille holds no fears for the world champions. That astonishing result in Belo Horizonte, particularly the opening 30-minute five-goal blitz that left the world aghast, underlined Germany's unique mental strength and belief in their own ability whatever the opposition or circumstances.
The host nation's bulging euphoria over France's Euro 2016 semi-final qualification is added motivation for Germany as they prepare to face them on Thursday, coach Joachim Loew said on Monday. The Germans, who will need to shuffle their lineup due to injuries to Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez and the suspension of defender Mats Hummels, are preparing to face a team brimming with confidence. "Such games are just great," Loew, who led Germany to the 2014 World Cup title in Brazil, told reporters.
Spanish playmaker Mata, 31, joined United in 2014 for a then club record transfer fee of 37.1 million pounds ($46.86 million) from league rivals Chelsea.
Champions Bayern Munich twice needed to come from a goal down to beat hosts Augsburg 3-2 on Friday courtesy of Kingsley Coman's two goals, and cut the gap with leaders Borussia Dortmund to two points.
Images from football matches played in Europe on Friday.
Borussia Dortmund's Ciro Immobile struck twice in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory.
Germany are determined to snap their tournament losing streak to Italy dating back almost half a century when the two meet in a Euro 2016 quarter-final on Saturday in Bordeaux, players said on Wednesday. The world champions have lost to Italy in every single tournament knockout match they have played against them, starting from a 1970 World Cup semi-final.
Germany waited for their last group match at Euro 2016 to field a proper striker in their starting line-up and were rewarded when Mario Gomez did just enough to give them a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Poland coach Adam Nawalka said he was never concerned about Germany scoring a breakthrough goal as his team held the world champions to a 0-0 draw in Euro 2016 Group C on Thursday.
Germany midfielder Marco Reus scored one goal and set up another in three minutes as Borussia Dortmund survived a late comeback to beat Augsburg 3-2 on Friday and bounce back from an opening Bundesliga defeat last week.
Germany coach Joachim Loew has named four talented youngsters, including three uncapped players, in his preliminary 27-man squad for Euro 2016.
Germany's Toni Kroos emerged as the world champions' natural leader on Saturday, stepping up to guide them to a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sweden kept them on course for the World Cup last 16.
Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to rekindle some of the magic they once served up under Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday when they face their old coach in the latest edition of Real Madrid's rivalry with Bayern Munich.
Depleted Borussia Dortmund shrugged off the absence of more than half a dozen starting players to ease into the German Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable 2-0 win at third-tier Saarbruecken on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich's Douglas Costa scored a first-half winner as the holders did the bare minimum to beat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 on Tuesday and move into the German Cup quarter-finals.
Here is a round-up of results from the European League matches played on Friday.
Bayern Munich went top of the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as rivals Borussia Dortmund slumped to their first defeat of the season with a 2-0 reverse at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Germany should really not be surprised by their earliest World Cup exit in 80 years.
World champions Germany have warned that there is more to their biggest Euro 2016 group rivals Poland than Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski.
Borussia Dortmund's miserable domestic season continued when they lost 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers Hanover 96 on Saturday, their fourth Bundesliga defeat in a row.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Germany's coach Joachim Loew looks to have found the last piece of his jigsaw as they eye a fourth European crown, with Julian Draxler sparking the attack into life in the 3-0 Euro 2016 win over Slovakia.
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