A change of coach hasn’t made much of a difference: The ‘Tank Corps’ have fallen again.
Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany fell to a 0-2 defeat to Austria in a friendly at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Austria on Sunday (Feb. 22).
It was Germany’s third straight winless game in three matches. They drew 2-2 with Mexico last month and lost 2-3 to Turkiye on Sept. 19. The Germans are preparing for UEFA Euro 2024 next June as hosts, but they are struggling to find their footing.
On the day, Germany started in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Niklas Fühlkrug, Serge Gnabry-Julian Brandt-Leroy Sane, Leon Goretzka-Ilkay Gundogan, Kai Havertz-Antonio Rüdiger-Mats Hummels-Jonatan Tah, and Kevin Trapp started.
It was a flashy starting eleven, but it didn’t work. Germany dominated possession and controlled the game, but a sharp Austrian counterattack threatened. If it wasn’t for a crucial save by goalkeeper Trapp in the 16th minute, Germany could have gone behind early.
A shaky Germany eventually conceded the first goal in the 29th minute. Again, it was a counterattack. Marcel Zabitser picked up the ball on the left side of the box and slowly advanced with the German defense in front of him. He drove through the defense and unleashed an unstoppable right-footed shot into the near post.
Then came the sending off. Four minutes into the second half, Zane had a nervous breakdown after bringing down Philippe Mbene. Mbene got to his feet and pushed you as you fell to the ground, and in your agitation, you punched him in the face with your arm. Unsurprisingly, the referee immediately produced a red card.
You are a veteran of 402 matches, but on this day, you lost control of your emotions and committed a needless foul to get sent off. You were unable to control your emotions after the red card and had to be restrained by your teammates and Austrian players. 무지개토토 도메인
Germany then brought on Jozua Kimmich and Florian Wirz in search of an equalizer, but were unable to overcome their numerical disadvantage. Instead, they conceded a late goal from Christoph Baumgartner in the 28th minute to make it 0-2.
Germany hasn’t been able to rebound since the change of coach. The Germans sacked Hanji Flick after a 1-4 home defeat to Japan in September during their A-match. The move came just nine months before the start of Euro 2024.