Germany’s preparation for the World Cup took a dent as they went were beaten 1-0 by Brazil at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Tuesday.
Germany and Brazil met for the first time since the thumping 7-1 win for the world champions at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. But, the heavyweight clash was a largely scrappy affair in the early stages, with the first chance only coming in the 17th minute, when Ilkay Gundogan blasted wide from Julian Draxler’s cut-back.
Leon Goretzka created another opportunity for the hosts soon after, but the tight angle proved to be the undoing for Mario Gomez, who did well to reach the ball. The two combined once again at the half-hour mark, with Alisson denying the Vfb Stuttgart striker this time.
As Brazil’s defence held on against the German attack for the first half an hour, their frontmen finally woke from their slumber in the 36th minute. Gabriel Jesus first missed from close range before breaking the deadlock less than a minute later when he powerfully headed in Willian’s cross past Kevin Trapp, who should have done better with the effort.
The Selecao had taken the lead against the run of play in the first half, and even though Germany entered the break as the stronger of the two sides, the scoreline showcased Brazil’s discipline in midfield and defence.
Joachim Low’s men started the second half strongly, with the full-backs proving to be a major threat. But, they ended up leaving a lot of space behind them, which helped Brazil grow into the game and take the invitation to start dominating the proceedings.
Ten minutes into the second half, Willian saw his shot blocked by Antonio Rudiger, but the rebound fell to Paulinho whose effort was then parried away by Trapp. Philippe Coutinho then blasted his trademark effort from 20 yards over the bar as Brazil continued ascending into the game.
Jesus should have doubled his and Brazil’s tally midway through the second half when he inexplicably failed to head the ball into an empty net with Trapp stranded on the near post. Germany then enjoyed a promising spell of possession, but they just couldn’t find a way to get past a defence that had kept 12 clean sheets in their last 16 games.
Die Mannschaft stepped on the gas with the game inching towards its close, but Julian Draxler’s late effort was tipped over the bar by Alisson, who reacted swiftly to keep his clean sheet intact.
