EM Last-Minute-Tor
Füllkrug saves Germany against strong Switzerland
Status: 23:08 | Reading time: 4 minutes
Füllkrug scores the 1:1 with a header
Quelle: Getty Images/Lars Baron
After two victories at the start of the European Championship, Germany was far behind against Switzerland. Then a joker struck. Niclas Füllkrug scored the 1:1 in injury time and saved the DFB team’s group victory. There are four possible opponents in the round of 16.
The German national team is showing comeback qualities. After victories in the opening matches against Scotland and Hungary, the DFB team was far behind in the last group match of the European Championship, but in the end they still played 1:1 (0:1) against Switzerland.
Two players substituted by national coach Julian Nagelsmann brought about the turnaround. Niclas Füllkrug headed a cross from David Raum into the net in the second minute of injury time to equalize to much acclaim.
This means that the national team is group winner and will face the second-placed team in Group C in the round of 16 on Saturday at 9 p.m. All four teams in this group are still in contention for this match: England, Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia. If they win, Spain would be waiting in the quarter-finals if the in-form Iberians win their round of 16 match against a third-placed team who has yet to be determined.
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For the third time, Julian Nagelsmann fielded the same starting eleven and combined this with a confident statement. He would not spare anyone just because he had a yellow card. If one of his players was suspended, then that was just the way it was. There were good replacements for every position.
Musiala with a strong action
His team began the game as determinedly as their coach had spoken. And it was the best German player so far who conjured up the first good move on the soapy Frankfurt pitch, which has been criticized for days, in the 2nd minute. Jamal Musiala left Remo Freuler standing on the halfway line, sprinted off and passed to Ilkay Gündogan. The move ended in a corner that Kai Havertz headed towards goal. Yann Sommer saved.
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The goalkeeper failed to do so in the 17th minute when he let a not very dangerous long-range shot from Robert Andrich through. The Germans cheered, the Swiss moaned because they had just seen Musiala foul Michel Aebischer. Referee Daniele Orsato (Italy) saw it on the pitchside TV a little later and disallowed the goal. Much to the delight of Sommer, who would have been responsible for the deficit.
Goalkeeper error: Yann Sommer let Robert Andrich’s shot pass
Source: AP/Frank Augstein
It would have been deserved at this point because Germany dominated the game. The Swiss, on the other hand, defended compactly, aggressively and quite early. They only became dangerous once, and then it hit straight away. Freuler was served on the left, played into the middle to Dan Ndoye, who pushed the ball into the goal (28′).
Now it was time for the final exam
It looked like it was offside, but the goal survived the video review. And Manuel Neuer almost scored again in his record game (the first goalkeeper to make 18 appearances at the European Championships). But this time Ndoye’s shot went just wide of the post (30′).
Germany was behind for the first time in this tournament. Now it was time to test its maturity. How strong is it really and how will it react to this small crisis?
Not very well at first. Firstly, the DFB team lost Jonathan Tah for the round of 16. After a cocky aerial challenge, the central defender received his second yellow card. Secondly, they had difficulty finding gaps against the opponents’ tightly defending team. The performance seemed more static and indecisive than in the first two games. The half-time break should do them good.
Tah against Embolo: Because of this attack, the Leverkusen player will miss the round of 16
Source: dpa/Arne Dedert
But they hardly did. Perhaps because Nagelsmann initially decided not to make any substitutions. Musiala (50th) and Toni Kroos (55th) did manage to fire some dangerous shots, but the German game continued to be flawed: less precision going forward, more vulnerable at the back.
In the 61st minute, the national coach reacted, bringing on Nico Schlotterbeck for Tah, who was now in danger of being sent off, and David Raum for the left-back Maximilian Mittelstädt, who was this time looking pale. Three minutes later, the young Maximilian Beier came on for Andrich in the offensive.
Kimmich had the equalizer on his feet
The substitutions brought a breath of fresh air. A header from Havertz went over the goal before Joshua Kimmich had a great chance to make it 1-1. His shot from close range was just blocked (70th minute). The fact that Beier was prevented from taking a follow-up shot by a Swiss player was not worth a penalty to the video referee.
Then Füllkrug and Leroy Sané came on for Wirtz and Musiala (76th). Now Germany threw everything forward, the final phase was a wild exchange of blows in which the Swiss scored an offside goal (84th), Havertz hit the crossbar (85th), and Manuel Neuer saved against Granit Xhaka (88th). Then came the big appearance of Niclas Füllkrug.
