A draw for the world champions in their second group match at EURO 2016, but they remain on course for the knockout stages going into the final game. The 0-0 draw against Poland on Thursday evening takes Joachim Löw’s team up to four points in Group C, meaning a point against Northern Ireland on Tuesday is enough to take them into the round of 16.
Germany have guaranteed third place in the group, but it remains unclear for now if it will be one of the fourth best third-place spots. Poland are second in the group ahead of the Irish, who celebrated a 2-0 win over Ukraine earlier on Thursday.
Hummels replaces Mustafi starting XI
73,648 spectators watched on at the Stade de France in Staint-Denis as Die Mannschaft played out a goalless draw in the 21st meeting with Poland. It was the seventh draw between the two sides, with Germany winning 13 and losing just one.
Löw put his faith in the team that beat Ukraine in the opening game, with one exception – Mats Hummels coming in for Shkodran Mustafi, who scored Germany’s first on Sunday. A back four of Jonas Hector, Benedikt Höwedes, Hummels and Jerome Boateng lined up in front of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos sat in Löw’s midfield, with an attacking trio of Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil and Julian Draxler supporting Mario Götze up top.
Germany dominated in the opening stages, with Kroos moving the ball quickly as he sought to pick holes in the Polish defence. There were three close chances for Die Mannschaft: an off-target header from Götze (4’), a long-range effort from Hector (6’) and an unconverted chance from Kroos following Muller’s low cross from the left (16’).
The encounter leveled off as Poland found their composure and began to take the game to Germany. Twice they look to break quickly and twice they had their attack halted by rash challenges by Khedira and Özil, which earned both players an early caution. Lewandowski and Co. struggled to create many chances, however, much to the credit of the German defence.
Mad moments after restart
Germany suffered an uncharacteristic lapse in concentration at the start of the second half – and it almost proved costly. Just 20 seconds after the restart, Arkadiusz Milik fluffed a golden chance to give Poland the lead, heading wide from point-blank range. Then, at the other end, Götze tested Poland keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who stepped in for the injured Wojciech Szczesny.
Ten minutes later, Poland almost caught the Germany defence off guard again – a training ground free kick fired just wide of Neuer’s near post (59’). In the following phase, Lewandowski found himself free in the box and would have giving his team the lead, but for a world-class block from Boateng.
Özil with Germany’s best chance
A draw for the world champions in their second group match at EURO 2016, but they remain on course for the knockout stages going into the final game. The 0-0 draw against Poland on Thursday evening takes Joachim Löw’s team up to four points in Group C, meaning a point against Northern Ireland on Tuesday is enough to take them into the round of 16.
Germany have guaranteed third place in the group, but it remains unclear for now if it will be one of the fourth best third-place spots. Poland are second in the group ahead of the Irish, who celebrated a 2-0 win over Ukraine earlier on Thursday.
Hummels replaces Mustafi starting XI
73,648 spectators watched on at the Stade de France in Staint-Denis as Die Mannschaft played out a goalless draw in the 21st meeting with Poland. It was the seventh draw between the two sides, with Germany winning 13 and losing just one.
Löw put his faith in the team that beat Ukraine in the opening game, with one exception – Mats Hummels coming in for Shkodran Mustafi, who scored Germany’s first on Sunday. A back four of Jonas Hector, Benedikt Höwedes, Hummels and Jerome Boateng lined up in front of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos sat in Löw’s midfield, with an attacking trio of Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil and Julian Draxler supporting Mario Götze up top.
Germany dominated in the opening stages, with Kroos moving the ball quickly as he sought to pick holes in the Polish defence. There were three close chances for Die Mannschaft: an off-target header from Götze (4’), a long-range effort from Hector (6’) and an unconverted chance from Kroos following Muller’s low cross from the left (16’).
The encounter leveled off as Poland found their composure and began to take the game to Germany. Twice they look to break quickly and twice they had their attack halted by rash challenges by Khedira and Özil, which earned both players an early caution. Lewandowski and Co. struggled to create many chances, however, much to the credit of the German defence.
Mad moments after restart
Germany suffered an uncharacteristic lapse in concentration at the start of the second half – and it almost proved costly. Just 20 seconds after the restart, Arkadiusz Milik fluffed a golden chance to give Poland the lead, heading wide from point-blank range. Then, at the other end, Götze tested Poland keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who stepped in for the injured Wojciech Szczesny.
Ten minutes later, Poland almost caught the Germany defence off guard again – a training ground free kick fired just wide of Neuer’s near post (59’). In the following phase, Lewandowski found himself free in the box and would have giving his team the lead, but for a world-class block from Boateng.
Özil with Germany’s best chance
Germany continued their attempts to penetrate the Polish back line with intricate passing and movement, which left them susceptible to the counter as a result. Milik spurned yet another chance for the Poles, before Özil forced a top save from Fabianski at the other end. It just wasn’t to be.
Mario Gomez came on with 20 minutes remaining, but he was unable to deliver a golden goal for Germany. Ultimately, both sides had to settle with a draw that leaves them on four points going into the final round of fixtures on Tuesday.
