Germany’s second friendly of the week saw them face the much tougher test of Belgium and the Nationalmannschaft were brought down to earth following their win over Peru on Saturday. Two goals in the opening nine minutes put the Red Devils in control only for Niclas Füllkrug to give the hosts hope with a penalty just before the break.
The second half was calmer for Germany as they took increased control, but Kevin de Bruyne extended the visitors lead before Serge Gnabry made things interesting late on with a goal to make it 3-2.
Here we bring you five takeaways from the class of the two European heavyweights
1. Germany given cold shower by Belgians
Germany hadn’t lost to Belgium since 1954 when the newly crowned World Cup winners from Bern suffered a friendly defeat but within ten minutes at the Rhein-Energie Stadion it was clear that the run of success against their neighbours was about to come to an end.
Goals from Yannick Carrasco and Romelu Lukaku in the opening nine minutes saw the hosts stun the home side and with the Germans struggling to deal with the lively Belgians, it was fortunate that Hansi Flick’s side didn’t fall further behind. Lukaku and Hertha Berlin’s Dodi Lukebakio both had great opportunities to extend the Belgian lead.
2. Füllkrug’s scoring run continues
The first half was a disaster from German point of view, with the only positive coming from it being the penalty dispatched by Niclas Füllkrug shortly before half-time. His excellent scoring run for Germany now extends to six goals in his last six games and maybe he should have taken the penalty on Saturday against Peru, which would have given him his debut international hattrick.
3. Wirtz the great hope disappoints
In terms of Charles Dickens novels Florian Wirtz must be Great Expectations, but his display against Belgium was more a case of Bleak House and he was hauled off after just 32 minutes by Hansi Flick as Emre Can also came on following Leon Goretzka’s injury.
Nothing seemed to work for the Bayer Leverkusen star and after a poor display against Peru, the hope that he can instantly get back to his best seems somewhat premature.
4. A spot of redemption for Tedesco
Belgian national team trainer Domenico Tedesco now has two wins from two in his new post after succeeding Roberto Martinez and he will be particularly pleased to have won in Germany.
Sacked by RB Leipzig earlier in the season after a poor start to the season, he leaves Cologne with a feather in his cap having beaten Germany achieving some redemption from his Bundesliga sacking.
5. Too little, too late for Germany
The first half was abysmal from Germany and the 2-0 scoreline could have been a lot worse before Füllkrug pulled a goal back from the penalty spot. The second 45 minutes was much better, but despite gaining more control they were always up against it and de Bruyne’s goal for 3-1 sealed the loss. The changes made added some impetus, particularly Kevin Schade, but in the end even Serge Gnabry’s goal proved nothing more than a consolation.
