Germany 2-1 Romania
Well, this World Cup 2022 qualifying encounter was closer than I predicted.
The outcome was ultimately the same but at half-time, the SBOTOP World Cup 2022 betting odds threatened to be turned on their head.
In the end, Serge Gnabry and substitute Thomas Muller – with his first competitive goal for Germany since 2017 – intervened as Die Mannschaft came from behind to beat Romania.
Indeed, they will book their place at next year’s World Cup on Monday if they beat North Macedonia and Armenia fail to beat the east Europeans.
However, don’t be fooled by that simplicity. This was anything but a straightforward night for the hosts in Hamburg – although their dominance was never in question.
Highlights of the game
Before kick-off I had confidently suggested that more tests were to come in this new German era – a new era in which new coach Hansi Flick is attempting to instil an upbeat, high-pressing style in Germany’s squad.
So you can imagine the surprise when despite dominating possession, half chances came and went as Germany failed to find a way through a compact Romanian defence and then fell behind when Ianis Hagi – who plies his trade with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership – gave Romania a shock lead, nutmegging Antonio Rudiger before poking a shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
It was the first goal the international team had conceded since the 15 years under Joachim Low concluded at Wembley in June at Euro 2020.
It could not be sustained of course, and Gnabry drilled in a leveller from outside the box seven minutes after the break after being teed up by Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus.
The game continued to follow a similar pattern as the first half but clear-cut opportunities remained at a premium and an unlikely draw was still on the cards for Romania until the most experienced member of the home squad in Muller came on to good effect.
Described as the ‘last of the homegrown world beaters’, he ghosted into space with nine minutes remaining and turned in Leon Goretzka’s flick-on at a corner for what proved to be the winner.
Four wins out of four and World Cup 2022 highlights continue for Germany, even if the standard of opposition has been limited.
Credit to Romania who, despite only mustering one effort on target, they have an exciting group of talent with the offensive leadership of Claudiu Keseru coupled with the presence of the young and dynamic Hagi ensuring they can be a dangerous counter-attacking outfit.
Likewise, former Bundesliga player Alexandru Maxim and Alexandru Cicaldu, who are both unused substitutes, have received praise.
The focus is all on Germany though because they are one win away from Qatar 2022 and you can rarely rule them out at a major tournament – even in the midst of a rebuilding process.
Key statistics
This was only the second time that Germany have won a competitive home game after trailing at half-time. The other was a 4-1 win over Estonia in August 1937.
Gnabry has scored 20 goals in his first 30 appearances for Germany and only three players have scored more goals in their first 30 games, the last one being Klaus Fischer.
Gnabry also has six assists in that time and four goals in as many games under Flick.
Only fellow Bayern midfielder Goretzka (five assists) has had more goal involvements in the Flick era.
Only six players have represented Germany on more occasions than Muller who netted his 40th international goal in his 107th international appearance.
In Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Karim Adeyemi, and Nico Schlotterbeck, Flick has called up four players still eligible for Germany’s under-21 squad.
Germany have a perfect record of four games played with four won, 14 goals scored, and one conceded since Flick succeeded Low as coach.
Germany lead Romania in their all-time head-to-heads with 10 wins to two with three draws. Die Mannschaft have scored 41 goals in their fixtures, conceding 19.
What’s next?
There are three qualifiers remaining for the Germans who travel to North Macedonia on Monday (October 11) before concluding their qualifying campaign next month at home to Liechtenstein and in Armenia.
Romania, meanwhile, host Armenia on Monday evening with matches against Iceland and Liechtenstein to follow next month as international football in 2021 draws to a close.
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