Germany made it nine wins from nine with a 2–1 victory over the United States in their last match before the World Cup.
The victory, achieved with goals from Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane, meant they had won four successive friendlies, having also won their last six World Cup qualifiers. But Julian Nagelsmann knows that even tougher tests are not far off.
As he had done for his club Arsenal in the Champions League final, Havertz scored to give Germany an early lead, this time after just two minutes. The striker, who joined the team later than anyone else after that final, headed home from close range after just two minutes. Havertz was unmarked for nodding in Joshua Kimmich’s freekick from the right side, while the US defense was missing in action.
However, Germany could not maintain the early lead and fell behind in the 37th minute to Antoine Robinson’s brilliant long-range volley. The left back fired his effort past Oliver Baumann into the top corner from just outside the box after Jonathan Tah’s clearing header fell on his left boot.
Havertz and Germany are in great form
After a strong start to the second half for Germany, Havertz was again involved when he took the lead on 57 minutes. The forward transferred the ball into the box towards the attacking Leroy Sané, before the winger fired a low, left-footed effort into the bottom corner. Both teams made several substitutions shortly thereafter, with Havertz and Kimmich also given a little more rest before Germany began their World Cup campaign against Curaçao, making their debut on 14 June.
“Overall, we played a good game. We are in good form,” Havertz told German broadcaster RTL after the game. “We’re going into our first game with our heads held high,” he said.
Additional substitutions on both sides slowed the game even further, but Brendan Aaronson came close to equalizing for the United States in the final minutes, but was denied by Baumann, giving Germany a chance to hold on.
Karl’s injury spoils Germany’s mood despite victory
Although the clash in Chicago may have allowed Germany to run out most of their potential starting players before the start of the tournament in North America, any morale boost from the win was offset by injury reports that emerged in the buildup to the season.
Bayern Munich’s 18-year-old attacking midfielder Lennart Karl was something of a wildcard for Julian Nagelsmann and may have provided the spark that is often lacking on Saturday. Karl made his breakthrough for the German champions this year and earned his place in the national team race with fearlessly creative performances. He started and scored a goal in Germany’s last friendly match, a win against Finland, and looked set to play a key role in the tournament.
But Karl had to bid a tearful farewell to the rest of the team after suffering a thigh injury in the final training session before Saturday’s match. Since nations can make injury replacements to their squad up to 24 hours before their opening game, RB Leipzig’s Assan Ouédraogo will take his place.
“I’m incredibly sorry for Lenny,” Julian Nagelsmann said before the game. “It’s a huge blow to him and all of us that he is not playing the World Cup. It is only a small consolation that he is young and has many tournaments ahead of him. We would have loved to have him in the team.”
Germany’s new lack of fitness before the World Cup opening
Nagelsmann also had some concerns about the other end of the pitch and the age range. The coach tempted Karl’s 40-year-old Bayern Munich teammate Manuel Neuer out of international retirement for a second World Cup victory, but Neuer missed both pre-tournament friendlies due to a calf injury. Although Neuer is very experienced, he has not played since Bayern lost their last Bundesliga game on May 16 and missed the German Cup final.
But the Germany coach said after Saturday’s win that he was confident Neuer would start the World Cup opener despite giving Baumann “huge praise”, making way for the experienced player.
Even though they go into that Curacao match on the back of nine consecutive wins and with Neuer fit, Karl’s defeat means Nagelsmann will have to work on lifting the group before the serious business begins.
Edited by: Rana Taha