The German team went into halftime with a deficit. In a breathtaking crime thriller, the German national team drew against Hungary. She made it to the round of 16 anyway.
The German national team was sure of victory in the third preliminary round match against Hungary. But the first shock came in the 11th minute: Captain Ádám Szalai scored 1-0 after a defensive breakdown by the Germans. “The team” initially went into halftime with a deficit. There was a sigh of relief in the 52nd minute when France scored the opening goal against Portugal and Germany would have made it into the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed finishers.
Even when Germany equalized, the joy was great despite a draw between Portugal and France – but it only lasted a full 15 seconds, as Hungary shot their way back into the lead in the 69th minute. It almost seemed like the 2018 disaster was repeating itself. In the end, thanks to Leon Goretzka, Germany made it to the round of 16 with hanging and choking. The goalscorer then admitted: Conceding a goal so quickly – that shouldn’t happen.
The voices for the game.
Manuel Neuer: “We are just relieved to finish second in the group. We were first behind, then again. It was a nerve-racking thriller. It is of course difficult when you are 1-0 behind. You saw against the French and the Portuguese that we defended well. It was actually a multi-legged defensive chain that tried to close, but we weren’t lucky in the crucial situations. “
Leon Goretzka: “I’m overjoyed, of course. If you’ve watched the game from the outside and noticed that it’s getting tight, then you just make everything up for yourself, so that when you come in, you’re just there. That the ball is still there for me happy at the feet, then just ran happily. What must not happen in the next game is the situation like in the 1: 1. In standard situations we are simply not fast enough, not awake enough. You just have the redeeming 1: 1 shot and 15 seconds later the 2: 1 falls – of course that should never happen. “
Joshua Kimmich: “Of course, I was afraid that this could go wrong today. We found it extremely difficult to work out chances. We did not get into the chain, nor did we go deep. We then made a few mistakes too many and stood by Ball possession not really good. So the opponent kept coming up with dangerous situations. There is hardly a better game against England. Whether it has to be in the round of 16 is an open question. But we are definitely hot. I hope that We are finally in the tournament now, we definitely still have room for improvement and we will show that against England.
Other voices about the game:
Joachim Löw: “We have also shown extremely good morale. Made a lot of mistakes, but fought until the equalizer fell. That was not for the faint of heart. We knew that Hungary would hit everything, like against the world champions France, everything will be closed as long as it goes . In the end we made a mistake and we had to follow suit. But in the end you also have to say: Getting through this group was good. That was the goal. But you can see that other teams are also struggling. France are playing oh Only 1-1 against Hungary, the Spaniards struggled for a long time. The so-called little ones knock everything in and defend everything. In the end, what counts is that we are through. And we can look forward to the game against England. “
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
