Nico Schulz’s 90th-minute winner on Sunday fired Germany to a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Netherlands in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier, lifting the pressure off coach Joachim Loew.
It was Germany’s first win in a competitive game since last year’s FIFA World Cup, and it came after a game in which Loew’s side showed strength and fragility in equal measure.
Germany were magnificent in the first 45 minutes in Amsterdam, but were outplayed in the second half as the Netherlands came back from 2-0 down against their rivals for the second time since November last year. Yet Schulz prodded in a last-gasp winner against the run of play to hand Germany the win.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The win will do us a lot of good, it is great for us as a team,” Schulz told RTL.
Loew praised his team’s fighting spirit after a roller-coaster evening.
“We played really well in the first half, but in the second half we weren’t really on the same level,” Loew said. “I was impressed by hard how the team fought and how they kept on believing until the end. Full credit to them.”
Germany burst out of the blocks and Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen had to beat away a fierce shot from Serge Gnabry after just two minutes.
With a quarter of an hour gone, the visitors took a deserved lead when Schulz burst up the left wing and found Leroy Sane with a low cross. As defender Matthijs de Ligt slipped on the turf, Sane slipped away and smashed the ball past Cillessen.
However, the hosts looked equally dangerous at the other end and veteran Ryan Babel forced two outstanding saves in quick succession from Manuel Neuer, but the Johan Cruyff Arena fell silent when Gnabry found the top corner with a breathtaking strike from the edge of the penalty area on 35 minutes.
“Don’t forget we were playing Germany,” Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman reminded anyone who was unaware. “We knew the Germans would come at us and we got off to a poor start.”
The hosts responded furiously after the break and De Ligt made up for his earlier error by flicking a Memphis Depay cross past Neuer to make it 2-1.
With just over an hour gone, Olympique Lyonnais forward Depay squeezed a shot through a crowded penalty area to level the scores.
The Netherlands looked the more likely winners for much of the rest of the match until Schulz popped up in the penalty area late on to steer in the winner and crown a thrilling match.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS