Germany’s group opponents at the European Football Championship appeared well prepared a week before the start of the tournament. With a respectable 1:1 draw in the local duel against strong Austrians, Switzerland remained undefeated in its fourth warm-up match and salvaged a draw against the Austrian team coached by Ralf Rangnick, which featured eight current Bundesliga players from the start.
Leipzig’s Christopher Baumgartner scored the 1-0 goal for the visitors in the 5th minute in St. Gallen. Baumgartner thus scored in his fifth international match in a row. The last time that was achieved in Austria was Hans Krankl in 1976, according to data service provider Opta. The Swiss, who will face the DFB team in the last match of Group A, equalized 1-1 through Mainz right-back Silvan Widmer (26th minute).
Germany’s second group opponent, Hungary, was in a playful mood. The team of Italian coach Marco Rossi defeated Israel 3-0 (3-0) in Debrecen on Saturday. The goals for Hungary were scored by Bundesliga player Roland Sallai from SC Freiburg (11th) and Barnabas Varga, who scored twice (20th/22nd).
Portugal loses without Ronaldo
When several football stars met at the Estàdio Nacional do Jamor near Lisbon, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo only played a role as a bench warmer. The five-time world footballer did not play in the dress rehearsal for the European Championship against Croatia on Saturday evening, which was lost 1:2 (0:1). For the Croatians, coached by Zlatko Dalic, Real Madrid’s Champions League winner Luka Modric shone with a converted penalty (8th minute), Ante Budimir (56th) scored the winning goal. Diogo Jota (48th) scored the interim equaliser for Roberto Martínez’s team.
Denmark was already in European Championship form. In the 3-1 (2-0) win against Norway, who did not qualify for the European Championship, former Bundesliga players Pierre-Emile Höjberg (12th minute) and Jannik Vestergaard (21st) as well as Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen (90th) scored. Norway’s consolation goal was scored by former Dortmund star striker Erling Haaland (72nd).
The 1992 European champions will start the tournament on June 16 in Stuttgart against Slovenia. They will then play against European runners-up England (June 20) and Serbia (June 25) in Group C. At the last European Championship, the Danes surprisingly reached the semi-finals, only to lose 2-1 to England after extra time.
For Portugal, the European Championship begins on June 18th with a duel against the Czech Republic in Leipzig. The 2016 European champions’ other opponents in Group F are Turkey (June 22nd) and Georgia (June 26th). Croatia begins the tournament on June 15th in Berlin against three-time European champions Spain, and then in the tough Group B they face Albania (June 19th) and defending champions Italy (June 24th).
