Berlin, June 23 (EUROPA PRESS) – The German team, with a goal in injury time from Niclas Füllkrug, saved a draw against Switzerland (1-1) on the third and final day of the group stage, a result which allows them to guarantee first position in Group A and, with it, a more favorable a priori crossing in the round of 16.
Things did not start well for Julian Nagelsmann’s men, who saw Dan Ndoye’s goal on the stroke of half an hour condemn them to second place in the group. However, the Borussia Dortmund striker, coming off the bench, saved things for the German team by heading in a good cross from Raum to equalize in the 92nd minute.
In this way, Germany, which had already secured its ticket to the round of 16 on the second day, goes first with seven points, two more than Switzerland, which will also be in the qualifiers.
In the resolution of the leadership of Group A, the host took control of the ball, but lacked the necessary depth to worry a Swiss team that patiently waited for its opportunity. Jamal Musiala warned in the first minutes with a filtered pass for Ilkay Gundögan, but an attentive Fabian Schär appeared to thwart the chance.
After the first quarter of an hour, Robert Andrich managed to pierce the Swiss goal, but the Italian referee Daniele Orsato resorted to VAR to annul the Bayer Leverkusen player’s goal due to a previous foul by Musiala on Michel Aebischer. The response from Murat Yakin’s team, which came before half an hour, was able to get on the scoreboard.
When Germany was absolutely dominating the match, Remo Freuler, after a loss of the ball by the Germans, put in a great cross that Dan Ndoye received at the near post to make it 1-0 (min.28). Switzerland was momentarily the leader of the group. The Bologna striker was still on the verge of increasing the lead before the break with a cross shot that licked the post.
After the restart, Julian Nagelsmann’s men poured on Yann Sommer’s goal. As soon as he started, Musiala forced the rival goalkeeper to act, and Gundögan did not hook the ball well on the rebound. Toni Kroos and David Raum also tried without success.
On the other hand, the Swiss team found the goal again in an action by Ruben Vargas, who resolved well against Manuel Neuer, but everything was invalidated due to previous offside. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper blocked Xhaka’s shot with a providential hand shortly afterwards.
With almost no time left for more, in stoppage time, Raum’s cross from the left reached the height of the substitute Füllkrug, who headed the ball into the back of the net to save first place for the ‘Mannschaft’ (min.92) . With this result, Germany could meet Spain in the quarterfinals.
DATA SHEET.
–RESULT: SWITZERLAND, 1 – GERMANY, 1 (1-0, at half-time).
–ALIGNMENTS.
SWITZERLAND: Sommer; Widmer, Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez, Aebischer; Xhaka, Feuler, Rieder (Vargas, min.65), Ndoye (Amdouni, min.65); and Embolo (Duah, min.65).
GERMANY: Neuer; Kimmich, Tah (Schlotterbeck, min.61), Rudiger, Mittelstadt (Raum, min.61); Kroos, Andrich (Beier, min.65); Musiala (Füllkrug, min.76), Gündogan, Wirtz (Leroy Sané, min.76); and Havertz.
–GOALS:
1-0, min.28: Ndoye.
1-1, min.92: Füllkrug.
–REFEREE: Daniele Orsato (ITA). He cautioned Ndoye (min.25), Xhaka (min.67) and Widmer (min.81) for Switzerland and Tah (min.38) for Germany.
–STADIUM: Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt.
