New Germany coach Joachim Löw enjoyed a winning start as his side trounced a hapless Sweden 3-0 in a friendly here on Wednesday exactly the same result as when the two sides met in the second round of the World Cup finals.
It was the perfect beginning for Löw, who took over from Jürgen
Klinsmann after this summer's World Cup, and the team will now be
full of confidence for their first Euro 2008 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Stuttgart on September 2.
Löw started with seven of the team that defeated Portugal 3-1 in
the World Cup third-place play-off under Klinsmann's regime and
watched on as Germany raced into a two-goal lead after just eight
minutes.
Bernd Schneider scored only his second international goal in the
fourth minute after a clever cutback from Tim Borowksi. World Cup Golden boot winner Miroslav Klose, presented with his German Player of the Year award before the game, then stole centre
stage taking advantage of some slack defending to bend in an eighth minute shot.
Sweden were shell-shocked - just like they were when Germany
scored twice in the first 12 minutes of their last 16 World Cup
victory - and it got worse. Klose grabbed a second with a trademark header in the 44th minute taking his tally to 31 goals in 63 matches.
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[bild1]New Germany coach Joachim Löw enjoyed a winning start as his side trounced a hapless Sweden 3-0 in a friendly here on Wednesday exactly the same result as when the two sides met in the second round of the World Cup finals.
It was the perfect beginning for Löw, who took over from Jürgen
Klinsmann after this summer's World Cup, and the team will now be
full of confidence for their first Euro 2008 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Stuttgart on September 2.
Löw started with seven of the team that defeated Portugal 3-1 in
the World Cup third-place play-off under Klinsmann's regime and
watched on as Germany raced into a two-goal lead after just eight
minutes.
Bernd Schneider scored only his second international goal in the
fourth minute after a clever cutback from Tim Borowksi. World Cup Golden boot winner Miroslav Klose, presented with his German Player of the Year award before the game, then stole centre
stage taking advantage of some slack defending to bend in an eighth minute shot.
Sweden were shell-shocked - just like they were when Germany
scored twice in the first 12 minutes of their last 16 World Cup
victory - and it got worse. Klose grabbed a second with a trademark header in the 44th minute taking his tally to 31 goals in 63 matches.
