Germany ease past San Marino in 7-0 win

The Germany national team picked up their sixth consecutive win in World Cup qualifying as they made light work of San Marino. It was the perfect result as the team now look ahead to the Confederations Cup in Russia.

Captain Julian Draxler opened the scoring before Sandro Wagner scored a brace in only his second international appearance. Amin Younes found the back of the net again for the hosts to give Löw’s men a deserved 4-0 half-time lead. Shkodran Mustafi struck immediately after the break before Julian Brandt added fuel to the fire. Wagner completed the rout by securing his hat-trick in an emphatic victory for the Germans.

Five changes from the Denmark match

Löw made five changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Denmark on Tuesday. Marc-Andre ter Stegen took to the posts, with Shkodran Mustafi leading a back-three including Joshua Kimmich and Jonas Hector. The Arsenal defender was able to feature after recovering from a concussion. Emre Can started in defensive midfield with Julian Brandt and Younes in front of him alongside PSG’s Julian Draxler. 29-year-old Sandro Wagner once again led the attack for Die Mannschaft.

The away side sat deep in their half from the very beginning as Germany took control of the game. Löw’s men demonstrated their dominance with some quick combination play and well-timed long balls but they initially found it a little tricky to break down a highly defensive San Marino. It was Leon Goretzka who had the first clear goalscoring opportunity but his header went straight into the arms of San Marino goalkeeper Simone Benedettini.

Draxler opens the scoring

It was not long though before Germany finally made the breakthrough as Draxler neatly curled into the far corner from inside the box. It would not take long for the home side to strike again and Sandro Wagner made it two with an accurate header to get his first international goal.

The back-three had very little to do, paving the way for the midfielders and forwards to work their magic. It was a fine performance for the 32,467 fans in attendance in Nürnberg, who watched as their team had more than 80% possession.

Younes gets on the scoresheet

The third Germany goal was the result of a moment of quick thinking. Kimmich took a quick free kick, sending the ball to Younes down the wing. Younes burst into the open space and sent the low cross in to the waiting Wagner, who made no mistake from close range to grab his second goal just before the half-hour mark. Younes turned from provider to scorer a few minutes later, taking full advantage when San Marino’s goalkeeper failed to claim Draxler’s corner, slotting the ball into an open net in the 38th minute. Wagner almost clinched his hat-trick before the break, slamming the ball against the outside of the post in the moments before the break. The referee’s whistle to signify the break was met with loud applause from the appreciative fans in the stadium in Nuremberg.

The team got the second half off to the perfect start. Just two minutes after returning to the pitch they added to their scoring total thanks to Shkodran Mustafi, who knocked the ball over the line to get his second goal for Die Mannschaft.

Demme makes debut; Wagner seals hat-trick

Löw made his first changes after 55 minutes of play, bringing on Marvin Plattenhardt and Timo Werner for Hector and Lars Stindl, allowing both to make their second appearances for the national team. Plattenhardt came close to adding a goal of his own, hitting a free kick just wide around ten minutes after getting onto the pitch.

Germany struck again in the 72nd minute, and once again Kimmich was in the thick of things, and the goalscorer was claiming his first for Die Mannschaft. This time it was Julian Brandt opening his account, latching onto Kimmich’s cross to send a diving header past the stranded goalkeeper to make it 6-0. It looked as though Werner had joined the evening’s list of first-goalscorers two minutes later, but his header his the post, and bounced into the side-netting. Diego Demme got his international debut, replacing captain Draxler in the game’s final stages.

Emre Can was the next to go close, hitting the side-netting himself twelve minutes from time. Wagner sealed his hat-trick in the 85th minute with another header, with the assist coming from Kimmich again, confirming a 7-0 win for Löw side in their final match before the Confederations Cup.