Whistles for the world champion: Germany narrowly escapes embarrassment

The team of national coach Joachim Löw with seven Rio heroes around returnee Jerome Boateng only managed a 2-1 (2-0) result at their dress rehearsal in Leverkusen against Saudi Arabia despite good attempts. In addition, the “Erdogan affair” surrounding Ilkay Gündogan and Mesut Özil once again caused displeasure.

Timo Werner (8th) and an own goal from Omar Othman (43rd) left little doubt about Germany's first victory in five games at the break. The team tried to make amends after the disappointing 1:2 in Austria and could have won bigger. However, the defense team clearly showed too many wobbles against the number 67 in the world.

So the guest managed to score the next goal: Taiseer Al-Jassim shortened the score to 85:1 (2th) with a follow-up shot after a penalty kick. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who came on as a substitute for Manuel Neuer at the break, had previously saved Mohammed Al-Sahlawi's penalty after a foul by Sami Khedira.

Whistles against Gündogan What annoyed Löw more than some lack of concentration was that Gündogan was whistled when he came on (57th) and every time he touched the ball. The national coach desperately tried to change the audience's mind - in vain. Gündogan met the controversial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alongside Mesut Özil and caused a stir. The injured Özil (bruised knee) sat on the bench.

But there were also positive findings: Captain Neuer once again radiated calm and confidence in his second international match after recovering from a foot injury. When the restart started, he was replaced by deputy ter Stegen. Boateng, who hadn't played for six weeks after his adductor injury, also only got 45 minutes. At first it was noticeable that he lacked practice, but he became more confident.

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Whistles for the world champion: Germany narrowly escapes embarrassment

Dress rehearsal with discordant tones: The world champion's top eleven is far from being ready for the title a good week before their World Cup opener and immediately after the training camp in Eppan.

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