Two of the favorites to go the distance at next summer's World Cup finals have played out a draw as France held Germany 2-2 at the RheinEnergieStadion.

A brace from Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette looked to have won the match for the visitors, but a last-minute strike by Lars Stindl pegged them back at the death.

France took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Anthony Martial collected a lofted pass from Lucas Digne and lined Lacazette up for a close-range tap-in, the Gunners striker keeping his cool to bury the chance.

The score remained 1-0 until early in the second period when Mesut Ozil picked out Timo Werner with a through-ball, allowing the RB Leipzig man to rifle beyond France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda in a one-on-one situation.

The French netted their second in the 71st minute, just moments after Toni Kroos had rattled their crossbar with a free kick, the visitors staging a swift counter though Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, whose square pass was slid home by Lacazette to make it 2-1.

Just when France thought they had claimed the scalp of the world champions, Mario Gotze's deft flick ended up in the path of Stindl, who fired beyond Mandanda and into the net to ensure that Germany had the final say.