2:1 against the Greeks

LIVE: Germany against Greece from 8.45pm

Ilkay Gündogan

(Bild: GEPA)

Exactly one week before the opening match of the European Championship 2024, hosts Germany have not yet shown their best form, but somehow still managed to win in the end!

On Friday evening in Mönchengladbach, they beat Greece 2:1 thanks to an 89th-minute goal from England international Pascal Groß. EURO co-favorites England's performance against Iceland at Wembley Stadium was poor, with the visitors winning 1-0. The Czech Republic scored seven goals against Malta.

Nübel the last player to be withdrawn from the EURO squad
Germany started with a possible starting XI from national coach Julian Nagelsmann, who had previously dropped Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel as the last player from the EURO squad. Manuel Neuer was in goal, with Joshua Kimmich, Antonio Rüdiger, Jonathan Tah and Maximilian Mittelstädt forming the defense. Robert Andrich, Toni Kroos and - slightly forward - captain Ilkay Gündogan played in central midfield. Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz played on the attacking flanks, while Kai Havertz was the solo striker.

Champions League winners Rüdiger and Kroos had been missing from Monday's 0-0 draw against Ukraine. The start was not much better than in Nuremberg this time, however, as the Germans repeatedly allowed counter-attacks in the early stages. With just a few passes, the Greeks played through the high back four several times, with only inaccuracies or Neuer preventing them from going behind early on. In attack, Nagelsmann's team did not pick up enough pace and played a lot of sloppy passes.

Neuer does not look confident before 0:1
Germany then made it 1-0 in the 33rd minute after a chain of errors in the DFB defense. Neuer did not look confident either and missed a not too sharp and well-placed shot, which Georgios Masouras tucked into the net. Havertz equalized in the 56th minute, after which Nagelsmann made some wild changes. Among other things, Groß came on for Andrich - the coach's way of securing victory. Shortly before the end, the midfielder shot from outside the box to make it 2-1.

Germany's European Championship opener opponents Scotland, on the other hand, were denied a victory. At Hampden Park in Glasgow, coach Steve Clarke's team drew 2-2 with Finland after leading until the 85th minute.

EURO co-favorites England lose to Iceland
England were behind against Iceland from the 12th minute after a goal by Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson. The Icelanders, who did not qualify for the European Championship, were on the defensive for long stretches of the game, but ex-Rapidler Arnor Ingvi Traustason and his colleagues did an excellent job. The 2021 European Championship runners-up hardly had any top-class chances. Captain Harry Kane missed one in the 28th minute when he deflected Cole Palmer's cross over the goal from six meters.

The Czech Republic and Albania, on the other hand, gave two other European Championship participants a boost of confidence. In Grödig, a Czech B team, which included West Ham's Vladimir Coufal and Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick, had an easy time of it against Malta and triumphed 7-1. Mojmir Chytil got himself on the scoresheet with a brace, while goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, who recently became champion with Sturm Graz, came on at half-time and had to make one save. The final test against North Macedonia is scheduled for Monday.

Albania, who are making their second appearance at the finals, beat Azerbaijan 3:1 in their final test in Szombathely (Hungary). The goals for the team coached by Brazilian Sylvinho were scored by Nedim Bajrami, Rey Manaj and Qazim Laci.