Germany overcome complacency and move top of group with late Füllkrug goal – The Irish Times

Group A: Germany 1 Switzerland 1

A header from Niclas Füllkrug in injury time saved Germany from a surprise defeat to Switzerland in Frankfurt and secured the hosts’ place in the second round as group winners. Switzerland, who had thwarted Julian Nagelsmann’s best plans and outplayed the hosts for long stretches, had to settle for second place in the end after a simple centre-forward scored their goal.

Germany have now played Switzerland 54 times in international football, more than any other opponent. They had won 36 of the previous 53 games. Perhaps it is an exaggeration to say that familiarity bred contempt, but there was a hint of complacency in the warm Frankfurt air.

The atmosphere before the match was almost comically quiet, as wealthy-looking Germans and Swiss strolled contentedly around the grounds of the sprawling sports campus in the forest southwest of Frankfurt. Unlike the wild scenes further south in Stuttgart, where Scottish fans flooded Stuttgart, you could walk around the stadium without hearing a single song.

In the first two games, Germany were faster and more combative than any other team. The challenge was to maintain the hectic pace in this anything but hectic atmosphere.

They looked to have scored their usual early goal after about 16 minutes when Robert Andrich’s long-range shot caught Yann Sommer off guard at the near post. The shot was disallowed because Jamal Musiala had fouled Michel Aebischer beforehand. Musiala’s foul was very similar to Kevin De Bruyne’s follow-up shot on Romanian goalkeeper Florin Nitu to score Belgium’s second goal on Saturday night: different VAR referees have different interpretations.

Just 12 minutes later, Switzerland took the lead with their first significant attack. Musiala passed the ball over, the Swiss responded with a flowing move that outplayed Germany on the left, and Freuler’s sharp cross was met by the onrushing Dan Ndoye, who slotted a deft volley at the near post.

There was another check – this time for offside – but no respite for Germany. They almost conceded again in the first play after the break when Ndoye, clearly electrified by the experience of scoring his first international goal, ran past Rüdiger at speed and placed a low diagonal shot just wide of Neuer’s far post.

Now Germany is facing a real test for the first time. This result would seriously disrupt the team’s plans – instead of confidently advancing to the second round in Dortmund against the group runners-up from England, the Germans would have to travel to Berlin and most likely face Italy there.

The quick passing combinations that had torn Scotland apart and dominated Hungary were ineffective against this compact and disciplined Swiss defence. The hosts did themselves no favours with a number of unforced errors – left-back Max Mittelstadt wasted good positions several times due to poor control.

In the 37th minute, Jonathan Tah committed an absurd foul on Breel Embolo by hitting Embolo on the head with the back of his leg while jumping for the ball. For this, he received a yellow card, which meant a suspension for the second half of the season.

There were signs towards the end of the half that Germany were finding a little more rhythm, and perhaps that’s why Julian Nagelsmann decided not to change his approach for the end of the second half. Germany were once again slow to get into the game, and Switzerland took advantage of mistakes to create two early chances.

Florian Wirtz at least provided one inspiring moment when he turned and played a through ball that beat four Swiss defenders, but Musiala’s fierce shot was saved by Sommer.

After just under an hour, Nagelsmann made his first substitutions, bringing on Nico Schlotterbeck and David Raum as a centre-back and a left-back for Tah and the struggling Mittelstadt. Five minutes later, there was a change: defensive midfielder Andrich had to go and Max Beier, the fast young striker from Hoffenheim, came in.

Murat Yakin also reacted on the Swiss bench and took off Embolo, Ndoye and Rieder – the three strikers who had started the game and looked so dangerous.

If the stage seemed set for a German siege of a massed Swiss defence, things turned out differently. Switzerland not only remained dangerous on the counterattack, but also started to play in the German half and the new German midfield duo Gündogan (33) and Kroos (34) struggled to win the ball back.

Wirtz created a chance for Kimmich, but he was stopped by Manuel Akanji’s excellent tackle before Nagelsmann made his final attempt: Niclas Füllkrug for Musiala, Leroy Sané for Wirtz. Sané missed a speculative volley and later fell to the ground hoping for a penalty.

But it was Switzerland who put the ball in the net next: Ruben Vargas burst down the left and fired a low shot past Neuer into the far corner, but the celebrations were interrupted by an offside flag. In the 88th minute, Havertz equalised thanks to a solid Swiss defence and set up another counterattack that ended with a shot from Xhaka that Neuer diverted around the post.

Frankly, it looked lost for Germany, but salvation came with a goal from Füllkrug. Raum crossed from the left and Füllkrug jumped up and headed the ball back over the goal into the top corner.

As planned, Germany will travel to Füllkrug’s home stadium in Dortmund for the second round, while Switzerland will play in Berlin.

Given these facts, Switzerland will be a difficult opponent for anyone. Looking back, their 6-1 defeat to Portugal in the second round in Qatar is one of the strangest international results in many years.

They have become an impressively consistent tournament team. The challenge for them now must be to emulate Portugal and Croatia and get to the final. If you are good enough to knock out France, as they did in 2021, and almost beat Germany in Germany, then why not?