Kevin De Bruyne steered Belgium to a 3-2 friendly win over Germany in new coach Domenico Tedesco’s return home on Tuesday.
Kevin De Bruyne led Belgium to a 3-2 friendly win over Germany on Domenico Tedesco’s first day back in charge. (More Football Information)
De Bruyne set up both opening goals and then sealed the victory just as Germany threatened an equalizer after a poor first half-hour.
Tedesco, the former Leipzig and Schalke coach, now has two wins from his first two games after his team began Euro 2024 qualifying with a 3-0 win in Sweden last week.
After De Bruyne sent him through on the left, Yannick Carrasco easily eluded Germany right back Marius Wolf and dispatched the ball past goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Three minutes later, Romelu Lukaku put the game out of reach for De Bruyne.
In the absence of Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger and Borussia Dortmund’s Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck, Germany’s defense appeared shaky. Matthias Ginter and Thilo Kehrer were both unable to capitalize on their absences. As play continued in one direction, Dodi Lukebakio should have made it 3-0, Lukaku hit the crossbar, and David Raum almost scored an own goal.
In the 32nd minute, Leon Goretzka appeared to injure his ankle, which was bad news for Bayern Munich ahead of the “Klassiker” against Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Germany coach Hansi Flick also took off the ineffective Florian Wirtz, bringing on the more defensive-minded Emre Can and Wolfsburg midfielder Felix Nmecha for his debut.
Germany immediately switched to a 4-3-3 formation as a result of the changes.
In the 44th minute, Niclas Füllkrug scored a penalty after his header from a corner struck Lukaku’s hand, and the Belgium star was penalized for handball.
Can make a potentially game-saving tackle before halftime, and the home team continued its comeback, cheered on by the relieved crowd.
Timo Werner’s goal was ruled out for offside, Füllkrug headed over, and Joshua Kimmich tested Koen Casteels, who was filling in for Thibaut Courtois, who was out with “a minor strain in the adductor,” according to the team.
With the home team attacking, De Bruyne sealed Belgium’s win on a counterattack in the 78th.
Before the visitors held on in the final minutes, Kevin Schade set up Serge Gnabry for a late consolation.
