Germany 3-3 Switzerland
Oktoberfest may have been cancelled this year due to the pandemic, but Germany had themselves a UEFA Nations League goalfest as they played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Switzerland.
Germany went down twice against the struggling Swiss, but the Chelsea duo of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz led their comeback to rescue a point at home.
The Swiss remain winless in this Nations League campaign and are still bottom of Group A4, but they should be relatively pleased with their performance away to Germany, who they’ve now drawn against twice in this campaign.
As for the Germans, this match should serve as a wake-up call to coach Jogi Low as their defence continues to look unconvincing.
Highlights of the game
Switzerland have been struggling to rediscover the form that saw them reach the semi-final of the first Nations League campaign as they’ve failed to get a win in their first three group games. But they surprisingly took the lead on the Germans after just five minutes.
Manuel Neuer did well to save Xherdan Shaqiri’s close-range shot. But on the ensuing corner, Neuer had no chance to get to Mario Gavranovic’s looping header, which put the Swiss ahead.
Gavranovic had another good goalscoring chance on 15 minutes. A Neuer miscue while playing from the back led to another chance for the Swiss striker, but the German keeper made amends for his error by making a fine save.
Switzerland would eventually get that second goal on 26 minutes, though. A sweeping Swiss move saw Haris Seferovic deliver an inch-perfect pass to Remo Freuler, who coolly chipped the ball over Neuer.
However, the Germans would respond immediately as Timo Werner pulled a goal back just a couple of minutes later. The Chelsea man made a brilliant individual run and produced an excellent finish to beat Yann Sommer.
Sommer then had to make a fine save to stop Robin Gosens’ shot, which looked destined for the top corner.
Germany continued their search for an equaliser into the second half. They came very close through Kai Havertz, who hit the post just four minutes after the break.
But Havertz would hit the target on 55 minutes as he pounced on a poor pass from a Swiss defender and finished with utmost composure.
However, the Germans would suffer another setback just seconds later. Haris Seferovic was allowed to ghost into the German penalty area and had two good shots at goal. Neuer managed to save both, but he had no shot stopping Gavranovic’s thundering strike which put the Swiss back ahead.
To the Germans’ credit, though, the fought back again and found themselves level on the hour mark. Werner did well to cut the ball back to Gnabry, who beat Sommer with a sensational backheel flick.
Switzerland would go down to 10 men as Fabian Schar was sent off for a second yellow in stoppage time. But by that point, the Swiss had done enough to fend off the Germans and secured a well-earned draw.
Key statistics
As pointed out in the SBOTOP preview of this match, there was a good chance this would be a high-scoring affair given Germany’s attacking ability. The Germans dominated 62.5 per cent of possession at home, which was expected. Although, it was less expected that they would have to come from behind twice.
In the same vein, Germany created a good number of chances (18 total shots, seven on target). However, they also gave up a number of opportunities to Switerzland, who finished with 13 shots, eight of which were on target.
The front two of Seferovic and Gavranovic created a number of UEFA Nations League 2020 highlights as they had nine of the 13 Swiss shots, five of which were on target.
Despite coming back to draw, Germany’s defensive performance should be quite concerning for Jogi Low. The Germans have now failed to keep a clean sheet in all four Nations League matches and has let in three goals in back-to-back home games.
What’s next?
Despite their draw, Germany are still in decent shape to win Group A4 after Spain were shocked by Ukraine. The Germans will next take on Ukraine at home in a month’s time. That should give Low some time to assess his side’s defensive issues.
As for the Swiss, their quest for that first Nations League win continues as they host Spain next. The Spanish won 1-0 at home against Switzerland in their first meeting a few days ago, although they were unconvincing and needed a Swiss error to get their goal.
Switzerland’s UEFA Nations 2020 betting odds for the return fixture should be much improved, though, especially after their impressive showing against Germany.
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