Hammers forward Niclas Füllkrug completed the full 90 minutes of Germany's 2-0 defeat at the hands of France in the UEFA Nations League third-place play-off on Sunday afternoon.
The four-time world champions had slipped to a narrow 2-1 loss against eventual winners Portugal in the semi-finals last Wednesday, pitting them against Les Bleus - who had been beaten 5-4 by Spain in their last-four clash - in Stuggart for a chance to finish on the competition's podium.
After coming off the bench in his country's previous clash, Füllkrug was this time picked from the start by Germany Head Coach Julian Nagelsmann, whose side enjoyed chances throughout, and finished the game with 20 shots compared to their opponents' 16.
Indeed, they had both a penalty award and goal overturned by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) - the latter for a Füllkrug foul in the build-up - while Karim Adeyemi had three efforts saved and Florian Wirtz struck a post.
However, Kylian Mbappe's 50th international goal put France ahead on the stroke of half-time, while former Crystal Palace star Michael Olise put the result beyond all doubt six minutes from time when he slotted into an empty net.
After their fourth-place finish was confirmed, Füllkrug - who now boasts 24 caps - focused on the positives of the performance, saying: “I think we had good energy in the game. We played against a team that brings extreme quality to the pitch.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate that we didn’t take the lead - that would have certainly changed the direction of the game.
“But we held our own against a team that’s in contention for all the trophies. We had a lot of control and put in a good performance overall.”
