A frustrating stalemate against a resilient but limited Ukraine side in a friendly leaves Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann with some questions to ponder, with just one more match before the opener to their home Euros campaign.
Germany started Monday’s game in Nuremberg brightly enough, but were frustrated by a compact Ukrainian side determined to give nothing away. Nagelsmann’s side, without their contingent who played in Saturday’s Champions League final including Toni Kroos, looked a little blunt, hitting the target with just one of their 5 of their 27 shots.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t reap the rewards for the many scoring opportunities, but I hope that will be different in the group stage [of the Euros],” said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Captain Ilkay Gündogan, and in-form young attacking midfielder Florain Wirtz were replaced at the break, as Nagelsmann manages his players’ minutes ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Scotland, in Munich, on June 14.
Beier makes impression on debut
Ukraine, who will also be at the Euros, posed a sporadic threat on the break as Germany continued to make substitutions and attempted to find the breakthrough after the break.
Maximilian Beier, making his debut off the bench, almost made an instant impact, only to see his powerful shot crash back off the crossbar just before the hour mark. Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin then denied him again soon after.
Another substitute, veteran Thomas Müller, was convinced he had won a penalty shortly after, but the German appeals were perhaps more a sign of desperation than belief. Germany’s final warmup match comes against Greece on Friday in Mönchengladbach.
