- Dave Donnelly
- Mon, Jun 19 2017
A second-string Germany side rode their luck as they narrowly defeated Australia 3-2 in their opening Confederations Cup game in Sochi on Monday evening.
Die Mannschaft coach Jogi Low opted to leave a number of his high-profile players at home as he expand his options ahead of their World Cup defence next summer.
Bernd Leno, Leon Goretzka and Julian Brandt were among the single-digit cap winners to make the starting line-up along more experienced names like Julian Draxler and Shkodran Mustafi.
And it didn't take the scratch line-up long to click as Lars Stindl latched onto a pass from Brandt to open the scoring with just five minutes on the clock.
They were pegged back against the run of play five minutes from the break, however, as Celtic's Tom Rogic took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to volley that Leno allowed pass through his fingertips.
Germany always seemed to have an extra gear and they exercised it almost straight from the kick-off as they restored their lead from the penalty spot.
The livewire Goretzka burst in behind the defence and fell under the desperate challenge of Massimo Luongo, and Draxler despatched the spot-kick emphatically to send his side in 2-1 ahead.
Three minutes into the second half, Germany appeared to have made the points safe when Goretzka ran through a gaping hole in the Australia defence and rifled home from Joshua Kimmich's pass.
The Socceroos weren't so easily defeated, and they brought themselves back within a goal courtesy of another howler from Leno.
The Leverkusen goalkeeper seemed to have taken care of Rogic's long-distance shot before inexplicably spilling the ball to the arriving Tomi Juric, who gleefully tapped home.
A now-obligatory review from the Video Assistant Referees found no offside but replays appeared to confirm that Juric had handled Rogic's shot before Leno's error, but the goal stood.
Australia tried to push for an equaliser in the final half-hour, and Leno was forced into saves from James Troisi and Robbie Kruse, but it was Timo Werner who went closest for Germany as he hit the post with 15 minutes remaining.
Germany saw out the closing stages to take three points and second place in Group B, but Low will be concerned by his side's deficiencies at both ends of the field.
Australia: Maty Ryan; Milos Degenek, Trent Sainsbury, Bailey Wright; Mathew Leckie, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Aziz Behich; Massimo Luongo (Robbie Kruse 46), Tom Rogic (James Troisi 71); Tomi Juric (Tim Cahill 86).
Subs not used: Mitch Langerak (gk), Danny Vukovic, James Jeggo, Jackson Irvine, Adjin Hrustic, Alex Gersbach, Jamie MacLaren, Ryan McGowan, Dylan McGowan.
Booked: Trent Sainsbury (64).
Germany: Bernd Leno; Joshua Kimmich, Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Rudiger, Jonas Hector; Leon Goretzka, Sebastian Rudy, Lars Stindl (Emre Can 78); Julian Draxler, Julian Brandt (Niklas Sule), Sandro Wagner (Timo Werner 57).
Subs not used: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (gk), Kevin Trapp, Keren Demirbay, Matthias Ginter, Benjamin Heinrichs, Marvin Plattenhardt, Amin Younes.
Booked: Leon Goretzka (55).
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA).
Attendance: TBC
Extratime.ie Player of the Match: Leon Goretzka (Germany).
