Gündogan and Gnabry dazzle
Despite the wet weather Germany certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves on the pitch - especially Gündogan and Gnabry, who create several dangerous attacks with his penetrating runs. After beating his man, the Olympic silver medallist cut inside and fired just inches wide of the inside post.
San Marino managed to get the ball into Germany’s half just once in the first half. A misunderstanding between Hummels and Kimmich led to a corner for the team ranked 201 in the world. Luca Tosi attacked the incoming corner, but was unable to direct his effort goalwards.
Hector extends the lead, Gomez unlucky
Heinrichs passed up another big chance for Germany, while goalkeeper Simoncini was able to punch clear from Gündogan’s free kick. But the shot-stopper was helpless to prevent a third goal for Löw’s side shortly afterwards. Gündogan played a quick ball forward to Götze on the edge of the penalty box and the BVB man fed a smart ball into Hector, who was free to add his second international goal.
Shortly before the break Gomez thought he had made it four after a clever pass from Müller, but the striker was judged to have been in an offside position. The Wolfsburg man had the ball in the back of the net again in added time, but referee Artyon Kuchin ruled offside yet again.
Confident Gnabry continues to impress
The second half started similarly to the first – with another chance for Heinrichs. The youngster fired from distance and was only inches away from joining Gnabry on the debut goalscorers list. San Marino continued to struggle to find a way outside of their own half, but defended bravely against Germany in the early stages of the half.
Simoncini had little to worry about from Gündogan’s free kick, and efforts from Gomez and Khedira, but was unable to keep out Gnabry for a second time on the night. The Werder Bremen latched onto the deep cross from Kimmich and side-footed in from six yards out. Götze then set up Hector for his second of the night after some silky footwork in the San Marino box.
Meyers hits the post with first touch
Löw brought on Max Meyer and Kevin Volland with 20 minutes to go, with the former having an almost instant impact on the game. Just seconds after entering the match, Meyer latched onto Gnabry’s cross but saw his effort crash against the upright.
Gnabry completed his hat-trick with another close-ranged volley – Müller providing the chipped assist. Volland then forced an own goal for Germany’s seventh, before wrapping up the win with a goal of his own.
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Germany made it four wins from four in World Cup qualifying on Friday night, romping to an 8-0 victory against underdogs San Marino. The Republic of just 30,000 inhabitants found themselves two goals down inside ten minutes against the World Champions courtesy of strikes from Sami Khedira and debutant Serge Gnabry, while Jonas Hector’s goal made it 3-0 at the break.
Gnabry crowned his maiden appearance for the senior team in the second half by going on to score a hat-trick, becoming the first Germany debutant to bag three goals since Dieter Müller in the European Championship semi-final against Yugoslavia on 17th June 1976. Hector also completed his brace after the break, while an own goal and a final strike from Kevin Volland wrapped up the scoring.
With the maximum twelve points collected so far, Germany remain top of Group C ahead of the new second-placed team Northern Ireland (7 points), who climbed above Azerbaijan (7) courtesy of a 4-0 win. Czech Republic (5) also moved up to fourth after a 2-1 victory over Norway (3).
Two debutants in starting line-up
Alongside Serge Gnabry, another youngster celebrated their first senior cap in Serravalle in the form of Bayer Leverkusen’s Benjamin Henrichs. They became players 84 and 85 that Joachim Löw has utilised during his tenure, with the San Marino game his 142nd in the Germany dugout.
As announced at his pre-match press conference, the manager opted for Marc-André ter Stegen in goal, with a back four of Henrichs, Jonas Hector of Köln and Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels in front of him. Sami Khedira and Ilkay Gündogan played in holding midfield, while Thomas Müller, Mario Götze and Gnabry formed the attacking trio behind lone striker Mario Gomez.
Lively World Champions race into the lead
Germany wasted no time in producing high-quality link-up play and finding space in the jam-packed San Marino defence. Henrichs almost opened the scoring after 110 seconds with his first touch in Die Mannschaft colours, but his low strike slipped wide of the post. The second chance came from another debutant, but the hosts’ keeper Aldo Simoncini saved well from Gnabry.
Two minutes later though, a brilliant dinked ball from Gündogan picked out Khedira, and he rounded the keeper to slot Germany into the lead. Then in the ninth minute, a fluffed clearance from goalkeeper Simoncini’s twin brother Davide set up Gnabry, and he curled the ball home two make it 2-0. The goal saw the Werder Bremen attacker become the first player to score on their Germany debut since Christian Pander during a 2-1 win over England in August 2007.
Moments later, Müller and Gnabry were only inches away from turning home a whipped cross, while Simoncini, also the man between the San Marino sticks in Die Mannschaft’s 13-0 win ten years ago, kept out Khedira’s shot to prevent the lead being unassailable after only quarter of an hour.
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Gündogan and Gnabry dazzle
Despite the wet weather Germany certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves on the pitch - especially Gündogan and Gnabry, who create several dangerous attacks with his penetrating runs. After beating his man, the Olympic silver medallist cut inside and fired just inches wide of the inside post.
San Marino managed to get the ball into Germany’s half just once in the first half. A misunderstanding between Hummels and Kimmich led to a corner for the team ranked 201 in the world. Luca Tosi attacked the incoming corner, but was unable to direct his effort goalwards.
Hector extends the lead, Gomez unlucky
Heinrichs passed up another big chance for Germany, while goalkeeper Simoncini was able to punch clear from Gündogan’s free kick. But the shot-stopper was helpless to prevent a third goal for Löw’s side shortly afterwards. Gündogan played a quick ball forward to Götze on the edge of the penalty box and the BVB man fed a smart ball into Hector, who was free to add his second international goal.
Shortly before the break Gomez thought he had made it four after a clever pass from Müller, but the striker was judged to have been in an offside position. The Wolfsburg man had the ball in the back of the net again in added time, but referee Artyon Kuchin ruled offside yet again.
Confident Gnabry continues to impress
The second half started similarly to the first – with another chance for Heinrichs. The youngster fired from distance and was only inches away from joining Gnabry on the debut goalscorers list. San Marino continued to struggle to find a way outside of their own half, but defended bravely against Germany in the early stages of the half.
Simoncini had little to worry about from Gündogan’s free kick, and efforts from Gomez and Khedira, but was unable to keep out Gnabry for a second time on the night. The Werder Bremen latched onto the deep cross from Kimmich and side-footed in from six yards out. Götze then set up Hector for his second of the night after some silky footwork in the San Marino box.
Meyers hits the post with first touch
Löw brought on Max Meyer and Kevin Volland with 20 minutes to go, with the former having an almost instant impact on the game. Just seconds after entering the match, Meyer latched onto Gnabry’s cross but saw his effort crash against the upright.
Gnabry completed his hat-trick with another close-ranged volley – Müller providing the chipped assist. Volland then forced an own goal for Germany’s seventh, before wrapping up the win with a goal of his own.
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