FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany substitute Niclas Füllkrug scored late to give the European Championship host a morale-boosting 2-1 win over the Netherlands in their friendly on Tuesday.
The excellent Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen tried fishing Füllkrug’s effort off the line in the 85th minute, but a check confirmed the ball had crossed the line, giving Germany its second win from two games after its 2-0 victory over France on Saturday.
It ended a Dutch run of four straight wins and rewarded Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann for a team shakeup that included six new faces and Toni Kroos’ return from international retirement.
The Real Madrid star’s corner provided the platform for Füllkrug to score the winner as Germany recovered from conceding an early goal.
A poor pass from Maximilian Mittelstädt for Jonathan Tah allowed Memphis Depay to cross for Joey Veerman, who scored with a volley in the fourth minute.
It gave Nagelsmann the conditions he had asked for before the game — a character test in the face of adversity for his players — who responded with ball possession before Mittelstädt atoned for his earlier mistake with the equalizer in the 11th.
Jamal Musiala crossed the ball after a Kroos corner and Mittelstädt struck it perfectly outside the penalty area to send it in off the underside of the crossbar.
Peter Schilling’s 1980s hit “Major Tom” rang around the stadium for the first time. Thousands of German fans had signed a petition to make it the official German goal-jingle.
