The German team suffered its first defeat under coach Julian Nagelsmann against Turkey. It is a setback on the road to the home European Championship in 2024.
Germany lost 2:3 (1:2) against Turkey on Friday (11/18/2023) in the sold-out Olympic Stadium in Berlin with 72,592 spectators. After victories against France and the United States and the draw against Mexico, Nagelsmann lost for the first time as national coach in the fourth match. Kai Havertz and Niclas Füllkrug scored the goals for Germany, while Ferdi Kadioglu, Kenan Yildiz and Yusuf Sari scored from the penalty spot for Turkey.
It is a setback for the German team ahead of the Euro Cup to be held at home in the summer of 2024: on Tuesday they will play against Austria in Vienna. Since being eliminated from the preliminary round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Germany has lost five of ten matches and won three of them. The EURO 2024 groups will be drawn on December 2 in Hamburg.
| Date | Adversary | Result |
|---|---|---|
|
March 25, 2023 |
Peru |
2:0 |
|
March 28, 2023 |
Belgium |
23 |
|
June 12, 2023 |
Ukraine |
3:3 |
|
June 16, 2023 |
Poland |
0:1 |
|
June 20, 2023 |
Colombia |
0:2 |
|
September 9, 2023 |
Japan |
1:4 |
|
September 12, 2023 |
France |
2:1 |
|
October 14, 2023 |
USA |
3:1 |
|
October 18, 2023 |
Mexico |
2:2 |
|
November 18, 2023 |
Türkiye |
23 |
|
November 21, 2023 |
Austria |
Germany takes the lead early, but Türkiye finds answers
“Especially in the face of a big tournament it is important to maintain stability,” said Julian Nagelsmann before the match on RTL. The national coach, who will take the team to the local Euro Cup in 2024, surprised with an unusual measure: Kai Havertz played as a left back. And the plan initially worked: Benjamin Henrichs released Leroy Sané on the right, who with his pass found the left back in the area and Havertz took the lead. An early goal initially seemed to confirm the good impressions of the trip to the United States.
Kai Havertz takes the lead in the German team.
The German team was strong in attack, but made serious mistakes in defense. Türkiye found adequate answers before the break. Abdülkerim Bardakci pushed the ball to the left, the German defense misjudged Ferdi Kadioglu, Kadioglu shot hard into the goal of goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (38th). Turkey, which has long qualified for the European Championship in Germany, continued to press and even took the lead: once again, a long pass down the left side of the Turkish attack caused problems for the German team. Kenan Yildiz appeared free in front of Trapp and shot bravely towards the right corner (45th + 2).
Ferdi Kadioglu celebrates the tie.
Füllkrug ties, but Türkiye scores again
The German team also started the second half well and tied the score shortly after the restart. Florian Wirtz put the ball into the Turkish area and gave the pass to Niclas Füllkrug, who scored from twelve meters (49′).
Niclas Füllkrug celebrates the draw against Türkiye.
But Türkiye remained powerful. Salih Özcan hit the post from 18 meters in the 52nd minute, and in the 69th minute the video assistant informed the referee of a potentially punishable handball: Kai Havertz had hit his arm while he was running. Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski awarded a penalty, Yusuf Sari fortunately converted to give Turkey another lead, goalkeeper Trapp was still there (71′). Yilmaz could have increased the score to 4-2 in the 82nd minute, but did not score, as did Serge Gnabry, who narrowly missed a pass from Henrichs (86th).
The situation before the game was charged with politics.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was in Germany on a state visit on Friday and Saturday, did not appear at the game. Several demonstrations about the Middle East conflict and the situation of the Kurds in Turkey mainly involved police forces. A march by Turkish fans before the game was peaceful.