By beating Belgium in Brussels 1:0 (0:0), the German team starts off their qualifying run for the EURO 2012 with an important and deserved win on the road. Miroslav Klose (51.) scored the decisive goal as the team that had finished third at the South African World Cup continued their winning ways.
Coach Joachim Löw relied on many players from his World Cup ensemble, with only Marcel Jansen and Holger Badstuber replacing Jerome Boateng and Arne Friedrich, both absent due to injuries. Forward Lukas Podolski played his 80th international, Per Mertesacker had his 70th game wearing the German black and white.
The young Belgium team, enthused by the home crowd, started off well, with Marouane Fellaini (6.) missing just left off Manuel Neuer’s goal. Then Romelu Lukaku tested Neuer with a shot from 20 meters.
Slowly but inevitably, Germany then took the initiative. Midway through the first half, the team of Joachim Löw had succeeded in establishing a slight dominance. When Jansen reported injured, Hamburg’s Heiko Westermann entered the game.
Then Klose scored the go-ahead – it was the 53rd goal of his illustrious career. Bastian Schweinsteiger’s determined effort led to a takeaway, then Thomas Müller forwarded the ball to Klose, who converted the opportunity. Klose is ranked third in the all-time scoring list of German football, behind Gerd Müller (68) and Joachim Streich (55).
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By beating Belgium in Brussels 1:0 (0:0), the German team starts off their qualifying run for the EURO 2012 with an important and deserved win on the road. Miroslav Klose (51.) scored the decisive goal as the team that had finished third at the South African World Cup continued their winning ways.
Coach Joachim Löw relied on many players from his World Cup ensemble, with only Marcel Jansen and Holger Badstuber replacing Jerome Boateng and Arne Friedrich, both absent due to injuries. Forward Lukas Podolski played his 80th international, Per Mertesacker had his 70th game wearing the German black and white.
The young Belgium team, enthused by the home crowd, started off well, with Marouane Fellaini (6.) missing just left off Manuel Neuer’s goal. Then Romelu Lukaku tested Neuer with a shot from 20 meters.
Slowly but inevitably, Germany then took the initiative. Midway through the first half, the team of Joachim Löw had succeeded in establishing a slight dominance. When Jansen reported injured, Hamburg’s Heiko Westermann entered the game.
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Then Klose scored the go-ahead – it was the 53rd goal of his illustrious career. Bastian Schweinsteiger’s determined effort led to a takeaway, then Thomas Müller forwarded the ball to Klose, who converted the opportunity. Klose is ranked third in the all-time scoring list of German football, behind Gerd Müller (68) and Joachim Streich (55).
