After a goal disallowed for offside, the Stuttgart attacker sealed the victory at home.
A blow from the Stuttgart winger Jamie Leweling served so that Germany will defeat Netherlandsin a competitive duel that qualifies the locals for the quarter finals of the League of Nations.
Given the incessant plague of casualties that plagues the german team -the last to fall had been Undav-, the German coach Julian Nagelsmann put into play what was available in his arsenal to seek victory in the presence as special guests of Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer and Ilkay Gündogan, honored before the duel by his career in the international scene. Toni Kroos, also summoned for the event, was not present due to scheduling problems.
With the intention of settling the pending scores from the September clash, the German team took the field. Not even two minutes had passed when a ball recovered stumblingly by Serge Gnabry fell at the feet of Leweling, completely unmarked in the heart of the area, who without thinking, shot it into the back of the net.
However, at the request of the VAR and to the relief of Ronald Koeman, the Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić annulled the goal by determining that the Bayern winger was offside in his first intervention in the action.
The controversial decision did not discourage Germany. The four-time world champion took possession of the ball and began to distribute it fluidly to attack the tulip team. In one of the attacks, Mittelstädt, incorporated into the attack as a winger, had another great chance, but his shot from close range was deflected by the Verbruggen goalkeeper.
Faced with the initial siege, the ‘Oranje’, in intense blue at the Allianz Arena in Munich, advanced its lines to pressure the German machine’s exits, especially led by the electric Xavi Simons. The first Dutch approach was delayed until 23 minutes, when a ball hung without angle by Gakpo hit the crossbar.
The initiative, however, continued to belong to Nagelsmann. A break on the right wing by Gnabry led to another pass to Livingcompletely freed from marking, but his shot was intercepted by De Vrij when all of Munich was already singing for the goal.
In the immediately following action, it was Kleindienst who was able to tip the light in another recovery after pressure, but his shot went wide.
The Bavarian fans began to carry out the wave with brilliance to give impetus to their team and, as a result of that dose of excitement, an impact by Gnabry on the leather while trying to steal it from Timber near the goal almost sneaked into the ‘Oranje’ goal. on the edge of rest.
The tone of the match did not change after the restart. Germany He continued to unsuccessfully surround the opposing goal, while the tulips awaited their opportunity. Nagelsmann’s men persisted in their attempt to take the lead, with less clear options than in the first half.
But it was not one of the countless plays put together by the German team that was going to translate the superiority shown on the scoreboard, but rather the eternal resource that has always historically distinguished the ‘Mannschaft’: set-piece actions.
A corner served from the left was headed by Kleindienst and intercepted by Van de Ven, but the ball remained dead in the area again for the magnet of Livingwhich, unceremoniously, projected a cannon shot to which there was no longer a possible response.
With the score against him, Koeman had no choice but to advance the lines in search of an equalizer. A great diagonal from Xavi Simons, cutting out everyone who got in his way, ended with a very hard shot from the young Dutchman hitting the crossbar.
The tables had turned: Netherlands It became the team desperate not to find the goal; and Germanythe one who played with the rival’s desire to finish off the counterattack. Another out-of-nowhere raid by Mittelstädt, after a low pass into the area by Real Madrid’s Rüdiger, almost finished the job.
In the final stretch, another personal play, this one from Malen, gave way to another shot from the front that Baumann, debutant in the German goal, managed to repel.
Germany resisted the final push and certified, despite the multitude of casualties, its classification for the quarter finals of the League of Nations. The last two matches in November, against Bosnia and Hungary, will determine the position in which they will land in the previous phase to the Final Four. For their part, Koeman’s men will have to play for the pass against identical rivals.
