Status: 03/29/2022 10:35 p.m
Germany played very well for a long time, but lost the thread in the last half hour. Therefore, in the test against the Netherlands, there is a fair draw.
The game in Amsterdam ended 1-1 on Tuesday (March 29, 2022) after goals from Thomas Müller (45+1) and Steven Bergwijn (68). For the first time in his time as national coach, national coach Hansi Flick did not leave the pitch as the winner. Nevertheless, he would have been satisfied, because the performance was right over long stretches. In addition, the Netherlands were the first opponent with a famous name in the ninth game under Flick.
“We have good character and are self-confident. You saw that today. If you draw a line under it, you can see that we’re on the right track,” said captain Manuel Neuer of the sports show after the final whistle.
Pot 2 in the group draw
Since Portugal qualified for the World Cup at the same time by beating North Macedonia in the playoffs, the German team now finally knows that they will end up in pot 2 in the draw for the preliminary round groups on Friday. They will be drawn from Pot 1 to one of these opponents: Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal.
First chance for the Netherlands
The Netherlands had their first chance of the game on Tuesday in the Johan Cruijff Arena through Teun Koopmeiners, whose header went too central (6′). The game was balanced. Nico Schlotterbeck was positive again in the German team. The SC Freiburg central defender, who played alongside Antonio Rüdiger in a 4-2-3-1 formation, did well in the early stages with an important intercepted pass and his own precise passes forward.
The team of national coach Hansi Flick interfered very early on, forcing the opponent to often open the game through Mark Flekken, Schlotterbeck’s club colleague from SC Freiburg.
For the first time with his hands, Flekken intercepted a shot by Leroy Sané in the 19th minute, which was also too central to be dangerous.
Müller draws level with Seeler
A little later, a header from center forward Timo Werner hit the crossbar. It was ruled offside, but this might have been reversed after a review by the video assistant, who was also used in the friendly at the request of the Dutch.
A precise pass between the central defenders Rüdiger and Schlotterbeck gave the hosts the best chance of the first half. Donyell Malen picked up the ball and shot it from a good twelve yards. The Borussia Dortmund professional shot wide of the goal on the left where Manuel Neuer was standing after Marc-André ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp were allowed to play a half in the 2-0 win against Israel three days earlier.
After the regular first 45 minutes had just ended, Germany scored the opening goal. Jamal Musiala played a back pass that should reach Kai Havertz. The ball was blocked, however, directly in front of Müller’s left foot, who hit the left corner with a full-span shot.
It was Thomas Müller’s 43rd international goal, who drew level with Uwe Seeler in this statistic.
“The lead is deserved because Germany was a bit more active,” said sports show expert Bastian Schweinsteiger at the break.
Space with a chance to make it 2-0
The lead could have been extended right from the start. David Raum was free in the penalty area after a pass from Sané and had the chance to shoot or pass Werner. He chose the shot that went over the goal.
A volley from Matthijs de Ligt was just as close (57′).
After a good season, the German team lost control a bit. The number of bad passes and lost duels increased. The Netherlands then equalized through Steven Bergwijn, who used a header from Denzel Dumfries (68′).
A little later, referee Craig Pawson awarded a penalty after a foul by the weak Thilo Kehrer. Hardly anyone would have expected that they would change their mind after viewing the images on the VAR monitor – but they did.
Four games in June
For the German national team there are now four games in the Nations League in June. It starts on June 4th in Bologna against European champions Italy.
Source: sportschau.de