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A sham: Four players from Ukraine and the team manager tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday. According to the guests, of course, they did not have close contact with their teammates. The Leipzig health department, which can only rely on the veracity of the information, had to accept it. The Polish players were together on the pitch, they traveled together to Leipzig, they lived together in a hotel, but, what a luck, what a coincidence, they were always far enough away from their teammates that the team did not have to be quarantined. . Try them all again, ignoring the incubation period, and you could play.
The result: Germany won their Nations League match against Ukraine 3-1 (2-1). Read the game report here.
The first half: Roman Yaremtschuk had put the guests ahead in the 12th minute, Leroy Sané with a deflection from the right wing towards the center and a shot in the left corner secured the tie (23). In the 33rd minute, Timo Werner scored 2-1 for the DFB-Elf. Leon Goretzka had prepared both goals, the first with a good direct pass, the second with a technically strong direct transfer to Werner.
First nothing, then a lot: Sané had not scored in his first 15 international matches, and in the next nine he was added to the scorers’ list six times. With a defensive man like Matthias Ginter behind him, Sané was also able to focus almost exclusively on offense.
The second half: Oleksandr Zinchenko hit the post in the 52nd minute off a deflected shot by Niklas Süle, Werner rose to 3-1 in the 64th minute after Ginter’s preparatory work. Marlos put the ball on the post for the second time (75th), the third goal was scored by Júnior Moraes (82nd). Surprising: national coach Joachim Löw seems to have returned to the “internationals should be won” mode after a long phase of “knowledge is more important than results”: he left his leading team intact until the last quarter of an hour and only changed in the 76th minute for the first time.
Manuel Neuer on par with Sepp Maier: The national goalkeeper caught up with Sepp Maier in his 95th international match. No goalkeeper has played more games for the German team than the two of them. Maier’s 95th and final international match was a 3: 1 in Iceland, Neuer also entering his only record game with a 3: 1 swing.
Day number six: This match will probably take place for Neuer on Tuesday in Spain (8:45 pm, live ticker: SPIEGEL.de). With a draw there, after the Spanish draw in Switzerland, the group victory for Löw’s team and participation in the Final Four tournament would be perfect. Even more important: by beating Ukraine, you have secured your place in the number one lottery jackpot in the upcoming World Cup qualifying draw and thus avoid the toughest opponents.
Lost opportunity: Of course, the game against Ukraine was played by the rules. No Uefa directive was broken, nor was any veto from the health department ignored. “We trust the health authorities who have worked hard,” quoted the team doctor from the national team’s Twitter account, Tim Meyer. “Also, the double negative test is reassuring, most recently even in the afternoon before the game,” Meyer said. Meanwhile, the Nations League match between Romania and Norway scheduled for Sunday was canceled on Saturday night. Due to the positive test of side Omar Elabdellaoui on Friday, the local health authorities demand that the entire team be quarantined for ten days. Reason according to information from Norwegian broadcaster NRK: Despite negative tests, players could be infected. A risk that the Leipzig players could have saved.
