Germany continued its shaky performance seven months before the 2024 European Cup and lost 3-2 to their Turkish visitors in an international friendly in the capital Berlin yesterday, Saturday.
The match was played in front of a large crowd of 72,592 fans, many of whom wore red (Turkish) shirts, as Germany is home to approximately three million people of Turkish origin.
The announcement of the Germany squad before kick-off was also accompanied by booing and booing every time a German player touched the ball in the opening minutes.
Kai Havertz, whom German coach Julian Nagelsmann had included as a left-back, unexpectedly opened the scoring after a pass from Leroy Sane (5).
The visitors equalized thanks to Ferdi Kadioglu after a long and precise pass from Abdelkarim Bardaksi, thanks to which the Fenerbahce midfielder was able to score a powerful ball that goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (38) could not cope with.
A few minutes later, German-born Kenan Yildiz gave the Turkish team the lead before the break with a powerful shot that bounced off the crossbar and into the goal (45+2).
The Germans responded early in the second half when Florian Wirtz, advancing in midfield, found his colleague Volkrug, who fired a low ball into the goal (48).
With twenty minutes left, the referee, reverting to the assistant referee (VAR) technique, awarded Havertz a handball in the penalty area and Youssef Sary successfully converted the kick amid the jubilation of the fans.
It is noteworthy that Turkey had previously guaranteed itself access to the European Cup final, which will be hosted by Germany, an automatic qualifier, between June 14 and July 14 next year.
Source: Agencies