In the first major endurance test of the World Cup year, the German national team drew 1-1 with the Netherlands. After a dominant phase, Hansi Flick’s eleven faltered in the final stages.
Bonds coach Louis van Gaal did not see Germany as the “greatest possible challenge” given the DFB’s personnel situation before the match, but in the 90 minutes at the Johan Cruijff ArenA the German national team proved that even with a supposedly short squad they are a force to be reckoned with.
Federal coach Hansi Flick made four changes to the starting eleven compared to the 2:0 against Israel: Neuer, Rüdiger, Sané and Müller started for ter Stegen, Tah, Weigl and Draxler. For the Netherlands, Flekken (Freiburg) and Malen (Dortmund), two Bundesliga professionals, were in the starting eleven, and van Gaal again relied on the somewhat unfamiliar three-man backline.
The goal of the eleven was to keep the distances between the team sections narrow, so the attacking line of the Netherlands formed shortly before the halfway line, which gave the DFB team a lot of ball possession at the beginning. Nevertheless, the first chance belonged to the home side, but Koopmeiners’ header after a corner was no problem for Neuer (6th). Flick’s team repeatedly tried to find a way through the centre, but the Netherlands were often compact and aggressive in the duels. After twelve minutes, Müller released Sané with a fine chip in the penalty area, but the left-footer shot from an acute angle only to hit the outside of the net.
Malays too inaccurate – Raum misses the 2:0
The only way to break Germany down was to play through the defensive chain, but Depay and Malen kept creating gaps from the 20th minute onwards. The Dortmund player in particular appeared in promising positions from time to time, but his finishes and passes lacked the final precision. Shortly before the break, the DFB team stepped up its offensive play, which Müller rewarded with the opening goal: a low cross from Musiala was cleared by Malacia to the feet of the Munich player, who took a direct left-footed shot from 13 metres and placed the ball in the top left corner (45.+1) – his 43rd international goal, which put Müller on a par with honorary captain Uwe Seeler.
The lead after an even first half became a deserved advantage at the start of the second half, which Raum should have extended after 48 minutes: Sané served the Hoffenheim player on the left in the penalty area, but completely free, he missed the moment of the pass to Werner and then shot with his left just over the goal. In the following period, Germany kept the pressure on and for the first time in the game were able to establish an advantage, but the dominance did not result in any similar top-class chances.
Scared after the equaliser – Nmecha misses the lucky punch
There was nothing to see from the home side for a long time after the restart, many balls were lost in midfield due to consistent German counter-pressing. The equaliser on 68 minutes therefore came out of nowhere – it was the first purposeful attack of the second half: Dumfries headed a diagonal ball from de Jong from the baseline back into the five-yard box, where Bergwijn was free and finished humorlessly under the crossbar.
The goal pulled the plug on the DFB team and the Elftal pressed hard. Three minutes after the equaliser, referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot after Kehrer had brought down Depay in the penalty area. However, after the video assistant’s advice and subsequent viewing of the video images, the Englishman took the penalty back, as Kehrer was said to have played the ball first – a fortunate decision for Germany.
German play remained choppy at this stage, with Oranje continuing to have the upper hand. Schlotterbeck had to clear a shot by de Ligt on the line, but that was the end of the home side’s most dangerous attacks. With a bit of luck, substitute Nmecha could even have scored the winner, but after a fine pass from Müller, the Wolfsburg player failed in a one-on-one with Flekken (88th). There was no more danger in front of the goals, and in the end it remained a fair 1-1 draw.
This was the first time under Flick that Germany did not win, but they played a decent game for a long time against the strong Elftal. The next training session will not take place until after the end of the season, when the DFB eleven will face Italy in the Nations League on 4 June.
