There was late drama in Frankfurt, with Niclas Füllkrug’s stoppage time header giving Germany top spot of Group A. After resisting the Germany pressure for such a long period of time, the result is a tough pill to swallow for Switzerland.
Germany will face the runners-up of Group C, with the hosts finding out their fate tomorrow evening. For Switzerland, they’ll battle it out against second place of Group B.
As it happened
Arguably the star of the tournament was creating things from the off, that man being Jamal Musiala. After wriggling away from a few Swiss defenders deep inside his own half, a long ball over the top found İlkay Gündoğan. The Barcelona midfielder wasn’t quite able to get his shot away, but it was a bright start from the hosts.
Germany had a penalty shout a little over 10 minutes in, with Kai Havertz going to ground inside the box. Maximilian Mittelstädt’s low ball looked for the Arsenal man at the front post, with his effort well blocked by Ricardo Rodriguez before he hit the deck. The referee, Daniele Orsato, wasn’t interested, however.
Robert Andrich thought he’d grabbed his first goal for Germany and put his side ahead after a thunderous strike until the intervention of VAR. He hit one from range after being teed up by teammate Florian Wirtz, but a foul by Musiala in the build up meant it was chalked off. Yann Sommer would have felt disappointed not to keep that one out, with VAR sparing his blushes.
Despite Germany’s dominance, it was Switzerland who dealt the first blow of the game. It was a wonderfully worked goal, with the host nation going behind for the first time in the tournament. Remo Freuler found Dan Ndoye with his cross from the left-hand side, and the Bologna man lunged in to find the roof of the net. It was Switzerland’s first shot on target and with that, it put them top of the group.
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth Switzerland and Ndoye looked full of confidence, nearly doubling their lead in a matter of minutes. Ndoye had to take his effort early, after being pushed wide by Antonio Rüdiger, with his low drilled strike across goal coming within a whisker of the inside of the post.
There were positive signs from Germany to indicate an equaliser going into the break, but they were struggling to break down the stubborn defensive line of Switzerland. For Murat Yakin’s side, their game plan was working to a tee. The Rossocrociati were full of energy and kept the stars of Germany quiet after 45 minutes.
Germany were in search of a leveller, with Musiala’s arrowed attempt denied. A brilliant ball from Wirtz saw Musiala take it on the turn, with his powerful effort straight down the keepers’ throat, paried out. Gündoğan looked like he didn’t expect it, with his instinctive rebound dribbling wide of the post.
The Germans were knocking on the door, with a vicious strike from the substitute of David Raum dipping just over the bar, before headed attempts by Gündoğan and Havertz followed, neither of which causing any trouble for Sommer.
Embed from Getty ImagesJoshua Kimmich had a golden chance to draw things level, with Manuel Akanji’s crucial block keeping the Germans out. The ball fell to the Bayern Munich right-back after being teed up by Wirtz, with Akanji sliding in at the nick of time to deny the Germans an equaliser.
Ruben Vargas had the ball in the back of the net, but there was no hesitation from the linesman to put his flag up. His run was made a little too early, before he found the side netting brilliantly to what he thought doubled his side’s lead. After a brief VAR check, the decision stood.
The frustration was growing for Germany, with Havertz clipping the crossbar. He looked to head in Germany’s equaliser, with the effort coming off his shoulder and looping onto the top of the bar. Down the other end, Granit Xhaka nearly scored a beauty to make it 2-0. His first-time effort looked sure to bend into the back of the net, with Manuel Neuer at full stretch to tip it away. There was no respite for either side.
The persistence of Germany paid off, with the two substitutes combining to score an invaluable equaliser in stoppage time to put Germany back as group leaders. A delicious ball from Raum was met by Niclas Füllkrug, with a brilliantly guided header rippling the net to make it 1-1. That late leveller meant the hosts reclaimed top spot.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s a result that means Germany and Switzerland progress, with Scotland eliminated after their late defeat to a Hungary side whose fate hangs in the balance.
The business end of the group stages are well and truly underway, and you can find out what happens right here at FromTheSpot.
The lineups
SUI: Sommer; Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez, Widmer, Freuler, Xhaka, Aebischer; Ndoye, Embolo, Rieder.
GER: Neuer; Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah, Mittelstädt; Andrich, Kroos; Musiala, Gündoğan, Wirtz; Havertz.