Germany’s rebuilding appears to be on the right track after Denis Undav on Friday scored twice as the four-time FIFA World Cup winners extended their unbeaten record in the UEFA Nations League to three matches after a convincing 2-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina, while the Netherlands drew 1-1 against Hungary.
Following the retirements of Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos, Germany started a new cycle, and their clean and fluid display against a spirited Bosnia side bodes well for the future.
Germany are top of League A Group 3 after also thrashing Hungary 5-0 and drawing with the Netherlands 2-2.
Photo: AFP
In the absence of several stalwarts, they played with confidence, developed complex attacking moves and gave the impression of enjoying themselves. They had plenty of chances to score more and had a couple of goals disallowed for offside.
“I knew that Bosnia and Herzegovina are good defensively, but you have to keep in mind that we had many chances,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said. “That’s why Bosnia and Herzegovina stayed in the game.”
The only downside was the defensive lapse when Hungary’s Edin Dzeko pulled one back 20 minutes from time.
Photo: AP
The visitors took the lead in the 30th minute at the conclusion of a move that showcased Florian Wirtz’s cleverness. The unmarked midfielder collected a lofted pass in the box and, instead of trying his luck, cut an unexpected back pass to Undav, who calmly finished the move.
Undav, who marked his first start for Germany with a goal against the Netherlands, was clinical on Friday.
His VfB Stuttgart clubmate Maximilian Mittelstadt was the provider six minutes later with an excellent cross as Undav doubled Germany’s lead with a clean tap-in from close range.
Photo: AFP
Bosnia’s Ermedin Demirovic, another Stuttgart player, hit the woodwork in the 35th minute, but Dzeko scored in the 70th with a header from a corner, his 67th goal for the national team.
The Netherlands’ unbeaten run was almost stopped at Puskas Arena. They had won all nine previous meetings with Hungary and enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, but could not find an edge to get past the staunch defense.
Roland Sallai put the hosts in the driver’s seat in the 32nd minute with a close-range finish from Zsolt Nagy’s cross.
The Netherlands looked set for a dreadful evening when defender Virgil van Dijk was sent off for a second yellow card, but Denzel Dumfries earned a point for the visitors with a header from Cody Gakpo’s curled free-kick in the 83rd minute.
“Even with 10 men, we tried to put pressure forward,” Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said. “I did have the idea: We’re going to score. If you have a man less, you are relieved that you still [finish] 1-1.”
Germany opened a two-point lead over the Netherlands at the top of the A3 Group. Hungary are third ahead of Bosnia.
Georgia’s unbeaten record was ended by Ukraine in Group B1.
Georgia won their first two games and remained at the top of the group despite the loss.
The Czech Republic won against Albania 2-0 in the other B1 game.
In B4, Iceland staged a second-half comeback to earn a 2-2 draw at home against Wales.
The visitors looked in complete control at halftime, but the home side were much the better team after the break.
Wales took the lead in the 11th minute when Harry Wilson’s effort was chased down and clawed off the line by the goalkeeper, but Brennan Johnson was there to tap in from close range.
The second goal was almost a carbon copy, with Neco Williams again sending a ball over the top to send Wilson free and this time his powerful strike left the ’keeper with no chance and they went in 2-0 up at halftime.
A spirited Iceland created chance after chance in the second half, and in the 69th minute they pulled one back with substitute Logi Tomasson curling a shot into the far bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Three minutes later, Tomasson attempted a cut back from the byline, but the pass took a deflection off goalkeeper Danny Ward at his near post that sent the ball into his own net for the equalizer.
Wales, still unbeaten under Craig Bellamy after three games, are second in the group on five points, two behind leaders Turkey, while Iceland are third with four points.
Turkey defeated Montenegro 1-0 in the other B4 game.
In League C, Estonia won against Azerbaijan 3-1 in Group 1, while Sweden drew against Slovakia 2-2.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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