And that’ll do from this one. Paul Doyle has England Under-21s v Slovakia Under-21s here - and it’s not going well for Aidy Boothroyd’s side.
Cheers for reading!
Well, that was a slightly odd game. Germany should have been about a billion-nil ahead in the first 35-odd minutes, then they were pegged back, and in the end Australia made a game of it. But, again, remember that this was Germany’s second string side, and Ange Postecoglou’s side were thoroughly outclassed for the most part. They’ll need a win against Cameroon in the next game to really feel comfortable about qualifying.
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Full-time: Australia 2-3 Germany
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
90 mins + 3: Hector plays a ball down the left side of the area to Werner, who has been very lively since coming on, but his cutback towards Draxler is cleared.
90 mins: Australia have a corner, which is cleared but only Werner is in that half of the pitch for Germany. Nonetheless, he doggedly keeps hold of the ball with three defenders buzzing around him. He eventually gets the shot away, but it flies wide.
89 mins: Wener cuts into the box from the right, lays it back to Goretzka who shoots...but it goes plenty over the bar.
88 mins: Draxler misplaces a pass to Kimmich. “NEIN!” is the anguished shout from Loew on the touchline. No, Jogi, he’s No.7.
87 mins: Oh! Look who it is! Tim Cahill comes on, replacing Juric.
85 mins: Sounds like good fun in Sochi.
Complete uber-tool in the stands to my right desperately wants to start wave. Gets angry when only his section joins in. #AUSGER
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) June 19, 2017
83 mins: Germany almost find their way through the Australia defence on the right, but they don’t quite manage it and end up knocking the thing around the midfield for a bit, slightly pointlessly.
80 mins: Australia might get something out of this you know. A long ball finds its way through the German defence, Juric chases it and Leno has to scamper out of his box to boot it clear.
79 mins: Another save from Poor Leno! Juric turns nicely as he holds the ball up in the area, lays it back to Kruse and his low shot, through a thicket of legs, is kept out by the beleaguered Germany goalie.
77 mins: Another change for Germany. Stindl is off, and your friend and mine Emre Can is on.
75 mins: Post! A combination of some brilliantly dogged play by Werner and some dash-of-Ribena-weak defending from a couple of Aussie defenders gives the Leipzig forward a chance. He sort of scuffs the shot, cutting in from the left onto his right foot, but it still beats Ryan and thunks into the base of the post.
73 mins: Hey, well done Leno - you made a save! Troisi tries to curl a shot around him from about 25 yards out, but via a pretty spectacular (needlessly so, really) dive, the keeper keeps one out. His afternoon is looking up.
71 mins: James Troisi is on for Australia, replacing Rogic.
68 mins: Australia are putting together the odd attack. Ryan plays a long pass which eventually finds its way to Leckie on the right, and he crosses into the box, but it takes a deflection and is ultimately harmless.
66 mins: A lovely bit of early 00s business from Kari Tulinius here: “I’m starting to regret deciding to give this game a miss. Is it actually an exciting contest, or is it a case of a couple of goalkeeping clangers giving false hope to the Socceroos?Either way, I now have “Poor Leno” by Röyksopp stuck in my head, which isn’t such a bad thing.”
65 mins: HONK!
@NickMiller79 Presumably Germany will bring on Horst Lidl and Dieter Aldi to face the Aussie Trent Sainsbury.
— TheSecret (@ToffeeDan) June 19, 2017
64 mins: Sainsbury goes into the book for some rather clumsy business, pulling down Werner out on the right flank.
63 mins: A change in personnel, and presumably formation for Germany: Brandt goes off, and centre-back Niklas Sule is on. Three at the back for them, one assumes.
61 mins: It’s worth making a point about VAR, from both this game and Portugal v Mexico yesterday. It hasn’t been at all clear, when the referee goes to the chaps in the video booth for a second opinion, why they are doing so. It’s not really being communicated in the stadium either, which leads to some rather confusing situations. Just then, for example, there didn’t seem to be a distinct signal telling everyone that the goal stood. Perhaps they will iron these things out, but it’s a bit of a mess at the moment.
58 mins: Australia claim a penalty, and with good reason: Kimmich has his hand on Behich’s shoulder as they both enter the German area. The Australian goes down, claims a foul, but nothing doing.
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57 mins: Meanwhile, a substitution for Germany, as Timo Werner replaces Wagner up top.
GOAL! Australia 2-3 Germany (Juric 56)
...but he wasn’t! There was a hint of handball, but the goal stands.
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VAR ALERT! VAR ALERT! VAR ALERT!
Mooy hits the free-kick into the wall, Rogic shoots from the edge of the box and Leno spills a rather straightforward effort and Juric is there to collect the rebound and slot home. But wait! They’re going upstairs to check whether he was offside...
55 mins: Goretzka goes into the book for a foul on Rogic, right on the edge of the area, and Australia have a big chance here...
54 mins: The second-half has settled into the pattern of the first, as Germany continue to dominate. Draxler is almost through on goal, but some smart defending by Degenek prevents him from doing much damage.
51 mins: Just remember that this is Germany’s second string that are giving Australia a chasing here. Goretzka, who looks very impressive indeed, side-foots a shot from just outside the area, but it goes over the bar.
48 mins: Simple, and excellent. Kimmich has the ball out on the right, briefly looks stuck but then clips a delicious left-footed pass into the right channel of the area. Goretzka runs onto it, steadies himself and places a firm side-foot half-volley past Ryan.
GOAL! Australia 1-3 Germany (Goretzka 48)
Well, that didn’t take long.
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46 mins: And Kruse is straight into things, latching onto a pass from Rogic and is through on goal, but a) his shot is saved and b) he was offside anyway.
Change for Australia at the break - Robbie Kruse is on for Massimo Luongo.
In the Under-21s Euros, England are just kicking off against Slovakia. Follow that one with Paul Doyle here, if you like.
And again...
Tim Wiese on a bed of leopards pic.twitter.com/FxG2kBeImP
— Ftbllrs with Animals (@ftbllrswanimals) June 19, 2017
Meanwhile, men, brace yourself to feel thoroughly inadequate...
Presenting GQ's latest cover star: Mahershala Ali https://t.co/t3xSkMcGLd pic.twitter.com/UOEX7IMgmp
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) June 19, 2017
Well, the right team are in the lead, but on the balance of play they should be about five up. Germany have been relatively wasteful really in not converting the chances they’ve created, Wagner in particular guilty of profligacy. They got complacent in the latter stages of the half, and then were bailed out by a careless foul by Luongo. One imagines neither manager will be overjoyed...
Half-time: Australia 1-2 Germany
Pppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppp.
GOAL! Australia 1-2 Germany (Draxler 44)
Goretzka breaks into the area, and is clumsily chopped down by Luongo. Draxler steps up and sidefoots the penalty home, and Australia were level for a full three minutes.
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PENALTY TO GERMANY!
Well, that was fun while it last, eh Aussies?
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41 mins: It’s tricky to recall a game with a scoreline less representative of the general play. Draxler gives the ball away in midfield, Celtic midfielder Rogic advances and takes a shot which is heading some way wide, but it hits the back of a defender and rebounds straight back to him. He takes a second to compose himself, then hits another shot from about 25 yards out, and it squirts under the body of German keeper Leno and into the net.
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GOAL! Australia 1-1 Germany (Rogic 41)
OH MY DAYS!
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40 mins: Germany go close again, and in the end Leckie does quite well. Kimmich streaks down the right having been set free behind the Australia defence. He crosses low into the box, taking Ryan out of the game, and Leckie slides in about four yards out and manages to avoid hoying the ball into his own net, instead putting it wide.
37 mins: Oh my word and how they do. Mooy curls the cross into the middle, the German defence is oddly static and they allow Sainsbury to ghost in - onside - behind them, but with time and space to pick his spot, he heads wide. It was one of those missed chances where the guilty party immediately looks round to see if an offside flag would save him. Nope.
36 mins: Mustafi pushes Behich over out on the left flank, and Australia might actually have a chance here...
32 mins: Luongo...erm...well...Luongo might have just taken a shot. I say might, because he was in his own half, booted the ball a long way forwards but it was so far away from any of his colleagues it could hardly be classified as an attempted pass. Then again, it wasn’t that close to the goal either - it skips out of play, closer to the corner flag than the net.
31 mins: Another shot, this time from Draxler after a neat one-two outside the area, but this one skips wide of the post. I haven’t see a more one-sided game of football in quite some time. Postecoglou looks...unimpressed.
29 mins: “This sounds harrowing,” writes Martin Turnbull. “Must be tough watching it.”
It’s certainly not especially entertaining sport. When one side is quite this superior, the consolation prize for not watching a contest of any description is usually loads of goals, but at the moment we’ve got the worst of both worlds.
27 mins: Another short corner, another effort on the Australia goal. This time the ball is fed out to Brandt, who shoots from about 25 yards out, but the save in the end was relatively straightforward for Ryan.
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25 mins: Another chance for Germany, as Kimmich crosses from the right, looking for Wagner, but Goretzka nips in first and glances his header well wide.
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23 mins: Not sure who’s going to be more annoyed at the moment: Postecoglou because Australia are being torn a new one, or Low that Germany aren’t already out of sight. An offside trap fails with some gusto as a ball over the top finds Wagner in lots and lots and lots of space, but he dithers a little, shifts onto his left foot and pulls his shot wide.
22 mins: Brandt is played in down the right of the area with so much time that he can afford to fully slip over, regain his footing then take a shot, but Mat Ryan wasn’t going to let that in at the near post and he tips it wide.
21 mins: There is some optimism from the Australian support, sort of. “It’ll be a fraught morning in front of the telly in Mt Helen as an Oz supporter,” writes Alan Clark, “and we’ll need to lift considerably compared to our AFC WCQ form so far. But I’m grateful that Ange is willing to take it up to the serious national teams, and we’ll not die wondering.”
18 mins: Germany win a corner on the left, which they take quickly and it eventually finds its way out to Rudy, about 35 yards out. Perhaps a little giddy at how dominant his side are, Rudy attempts an effort that you’d generously describe as ‘optimistic’, and he only succeeds in booting it high into the crowd. A little scamp in the stands keeps the ball for himself.
16 mins: My my, Germany should be two up. Goretzka hooks over a half-volleyed cross into the area looking for Wagner. His marker Degenek slips over on the edge of the six-yard box, effectively giving the big striker a free header, but Wagner puts it wide with the goal at his mercy.
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15 mins: Leckie fouls Hector on the German left, and they have a free-kick in a potentially dangerous spot. The cross is swung over, and Goretzka wins the header, but his glancing effort skips just wide of the far post.
13 mins: As Patrick says, if Mooy can’t get on the ball properly then Australia are in some bother, and he just can’t at the moment. Luongo fouls Draxler, and an Australia attack peters out.
10 mins: Patrick Wills sent this in before Australia were sliced open like warm camembert, but the points stand: “Evening (or should I say morning) from Australia Nick! Coach Postecoglou’s new 3-2-4-1 a.k.a. Frankenstein monster of a tribute to Conte has left many scratching heads here in Aus. With two wing-backs and four central mids it’s interesting to say the least. Two key areas to watch I think for the ‘roos today:
1. How Behich and Leckie cope as makeshift wing-backs (the latter in particular is a winger by trade) against Draxler and Brandt, while being the sole source of width going forward. High chance of those two being pinned back and our attacks becoming quite stodgy/narrow as a result.
2. How much influence Mooy and Rogic can have in midfield. Comfortably our most gifted players on the ball, if they can’t get a hold in this game we’ve got no hope.
7 mins: Australia attempt to get back into the game post-haste, but a free-kick crossed into the middle by Mooy only results in a clash of heads, Rudy briefly requiring a little attention.
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5 mins: Easy game, football. Brandt is set free down the right, he reaches the byline and cuts back to Stindl, who is in absolutely acres about 12 yards out, and he slots the ball home. Ange’s grumpiness won’t improve after that one.
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GOAL! Australia 0-1 Germany (Stindl 5)
Well that was frighteningly easy.
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3 mins: Wagner unveils a spectacular bit of cheating as he gets the ball just inside the Australia area, looks over his shoulder for the nearest defender, backs into Wright then throws himself to the floor. The referee looks on unimpressed, but takes no further action.
1 min: And we’re away. Australia in gold shirts and shorts, and green socks. Germany are in white shirts, black shorts and white socks.
Will we have another VAR adventure in this game? What a world.
The teams are out, and we’re five minutes away from kick-off. The national anthems are announced by a terrifying-sounding Russian voice, straight out of a film where the Soviets are big baddies come to Communist up your house.
So it’s, shall we say, not the strongest side Germany could have selected. But of course we knew that given Jogi Luuuuuuurrrve’s squad - he hasn’t got Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil idling on the bench. So will this actually be the test for Australia that Postecoglou wants?
Team news
Australia
Ryan; Degenek, Sainsbury, Wright; Leckie, Milligan, Mooy, Behich; Luongo, Rogic; Juric
Germany
Leno; Kimmich, Mustafi, Rudiger, Hector; Goretzka, Rudy, Stindl; Draxler, Brandt, S.Wagner
Preamble
This week, a newspaper posed the question: is Ange Postecoglou the Kanye West of Australian sport? The thought of the big man hopping onto a stage, grabbing a microphone off, say, Anna Meares, and declaring “Imma let you finish, but Meg Lanning is one of the best cricketers in the world!” is certainly an arresting one. Or perhaps naming one of his training sessions “Peezus.”
The basis of the comparison was seemingly that Postecoglou was a bit grumpy in a press conference, which did seem a bit much. What, one might wonder, would the person who drew that comparison make of Sir Alex Ferguson in his pomp?
Still, the Aussie boss is quite a grumpy grump. “Maybe that’s just my demeanour,” he harrumphed, when asked about his mood. And he did seem pretty happy with the prospect of playing this game, if only because Australia don’t get the chance to face the European elite very much. “It’s a great opening game for us. We’re playing against the world champions. A team that wants to win the World Cup next year,” Postecoglou said. “We want to continue to evolve as a team and we want to do well here. We’re not going to hide. We’re going to measure ourselves against the best teams.”
Quite so. Let’s see how they measure up.
Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, have a read our man on the ground in Sochi Kieran Pender’s preview:
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