Joachim Löw opted to bring on Sebastian Rudy for Holger Badstuber at half time, thus switching to a back four. Reus had the first chance of the second half, almost curling a brilliant free kick under the crossbar only three minutes after the restart, but Ryan made a fine stop at the last second. The World Champions then received a shock just a couple of minutes later. Australia captain and Crystal Palace midfielder Mile Jedinak took a free kick of his own from 25 yards and was able to beat Zieler in the Germany goal.
The DFB-Team soon re-established their dominance after falling behind and went in search of an equaliser. Karim Bellarabi’s powerful strike forced another good save from Ryan, but Leckie almost scored at the other end, with only the post keeping his header out.
Podolski salvages a draw
Löw made a number of substitutions in the second half, with Lukas Podolski, André Schürrle, Christoph Kramer and Max Kruse all coming on. They upped the pressure on Australia in the closing stages and that ultimately paid off. In a co-production of two World Champions, Schürrle did brilliantly on the left-hand side of the box to beat a couple of players before pulling the ball back into the centre where Podolski was waiting to slot it home nine minutes from time. Not only was it a goal that prevented defeat for Germany, but it also saw the Inter man move into third place in the nation’s list of all-time scorers, with Podolski having netted 48 in total.
The Germany national team’s first game of 2015 ended with a draw against Australia. Joachim Löw’s side had a number of injured players back on board as the DFB-Team played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with the Asian Champions. Marco Reus put the World Champions in front after 17 minutes, but James Troisi headed in an equaliser five minutes before the break. Australia captain Mile Jedinak’s free kick gave the visitors hope of a surprise win, but substitute Lukas Podolski ensured a draw with his 81st-minute strike.
Germany had several good moments going forward, but weren’t able to demonstrate the usual dominance, with Australia proving to be a constant threat on the counterattack. The serious business is on Sunday, when Löw’s side travel to Georgia for a EURO 2016 qualifier (18:00 CET).
Badstuber and Gündogan return - Hector makes his first start
Löw announced at his pre-match press conference that there would be a number of changes: “We will try out some things and we’ll no doubt make some mistakes in the process.” There were a number of surprises in his starting line-up. The injured Manuel Neuer was replaced by Ron-Robert Zieler, who was preferred to Dortmund’s Roman Weidenfeller. Holger Badstuber made his return from a long-term injury absence as part of a back three that also featured Shkodran Mustafi and Benedikt Höwedes.
Bastian Schweinsteiger didn’t get a chance to lead the side out as captain for the first time, instead spending the game on the bench. Sami Khedira took over the armband, as well as the defensive midfield role. Karim Bellarabi and Jonas Hector, making his first start for Germany, took up positions on the right and left flank respectively, while Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan sat just ahead of Khedira in midfield. Marco Reus and Mario Götze made up a flexible front pairing.
Chances at both ends early on
There were 47,106 spectators at the sold-out Fritz-Walter-Stadion, all of whom observed a minute’s silence ahead of the game in memory of the victims of the tragic plane crash in the French Alps on Tuesday. The match began at a furious pace with chances at both ends. Badstuber saw a shot from inside the box blocked after just five minutes, with the rebound from Gündogan flying narrowly wide of the far post.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were playing with courage and made a nuisance of themselves going forward in the opening stages. The agile Mathew Leckie of FC Ingolstadt had the best chance to put the away side in front, but couldn’t direct his shot into the bottom corner. Nathan Burns then wasted a headed chance just after the quarter-hour mark.
Reus makes it 1-0 but misses big chance
Germany started to gain more control of the game as it progressed and Marco Reus turned a Gündogan through ball into the back of the net on 16 minutes, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside. The Borussia Dortmund man didn’t have to wait much longer to add his name to the scoresheet though. Sami Khedira made space for himself down the left and played a ball into the centre that Reus simply diverted past Mat Ryan in the Australia goal just one minute later. Köln left back Hector was having a good game and was unlucky not to come closer with a couple of long-range efforts, but it was Reus who missed the best chance to make it 2-0 to Germany, firing into the side netting when through on goal.
Despite a lack of match practice, Löw’s new-look Germany side were dictating the play and looked good for their lead. However, the back three kept finding themselves having to deal with Australia’s dangerous counters. A throw-in to the visitors then caught the hosts out, as Nathan Burns’ cross was headed in from six yards by James Troisi in the 40th minute.
Löw makes a change, Australia strike
Joachim Löw opted to bring on Sebastian Rudy for Holger Badstuber at half time, thus switching to a back four. Reus had the first chance of the second half, almost curling a brilliant free kick under the crossbar only three minutes after the restart, but Ryan made a fine stop at the last second. The World Champions then received a shock just a couple of minutes later. Australia captain and Crystal Palace midfielder Mile Jedinak took a free kick of his own from 25 yards and was able to beat Zieler in the Germany goal.
The DFB-Team soon re-established their dominance after falling behind and went in search of an equaliser. Karim Bellarabi’s powerful strike forced another good save from Ryan, but Leckie almost scored at the other end, with only the post keeping his header out.
Podolski salvages a draw
Löw made a number of substitutions in the second half, with Lukas Podolski, André Schürrle, Christoph Kramer and Max Kruse all coming on. They upped the pressure on Australia in the closing stages and that ultimately paid off. In a co-production of two World Champions, Schürrle did brilliantly on the left-hand side of the box to beat a couple of players before pulling the ball back into the centre where Podolski was waiting to slot it home nine minutes from time. Not only was it a goal that prevented defeat for Germany, but it also saw the Inter man move into third place in the nation’s list of all-time scorers, with Podolski having netted 48 in total.
