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International Friendlies
Jun 4, 2016 at 5pm UK
 
HN

2-0

Lang (39' og.), Muller (63')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Live Commentary: Germany 2-0 Hungary - as it happened

:Headline: Live Commentary: Germany 2-0 Hungary - as it happened: ID:274133: from db_amp
Relive Germany's 2-0 win over Hungary as the world champions ease to a routine victory in their final Euro 2016 warm-up game.

Germany eased to a routine 2-0 victory over Hungary in their final Euro 2016 warm-up game at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen this evening.

The world champions took the lead late in the first half when Adam Lang deflected a low cross into his own net after a slick team move from the hosts.

Thomas Muller then effectively sealed the result after the break, following up at the back post to apply the finish after Mario Gomez's header had been kept out by Gabor Kiraly.

Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's live minute-by-minute coverage below.

Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Euro 2016 warm-up match as both Germany and Hungary finalise their preparations for this summer's tournament. The visitors actually go into the game as the form team of the two, but Germany still boast a wealth of talent throughout their squad and are considered by many to be among the leading candidates to go all the way in France. Before we get into all that, though, let's take a look at the team news...
GERMANY STARTING XI: Neuer; Höwedes, Boateng, Rüdiger; Khedira, Özil, Draxler, Kroos, Götze, Hector; Müller
While we wait for the Hungarian team news, let's first take a look at that Germany side as Die Mannschaft look to turn their recent form around. Unsurprisingly there are a few changes from the team that was beaten 3-1 by Slovakia last time out, with Low expected to return to something approaching his first-choice XI tonight in their final warm-up game. It would be something of a surprise if this team lined up for their opening game of the tournament, though.
One of the players to return is Manuel Neuer in goal after he sat out the match against Slovakia, and I don't think that there is any doubt at all that he will be the starting goalkeeper at the tournament itself. The Bayern Munich stopper helped his side to another league title this season and is still regarded by many to be the best goalkeeper in world football, so although Germany's recent defensive record isn't actually that good, the Neuer factor always gives them a bit of an extra edge.
Boateng and Rudiger both keep their places in the back three from the last match, with the only change in that trio seeing Howedes, playing at his club ground today, replace Kimmich. Joachim Low still has a decision to make regarding his defence, with Mats Hummels currently out injured but still included in the squad. Should he be fully fit then you'd think he'd start, so this is an important game for that back three to convince Low that they warrant a place in the XI too.
There are two changes in midfield too as Low opts to bring in Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Real Madrid's Toni Kroos. Ozil enjoyed a magnificent first half of the Premier League season just finished, but he tailed off a bit after the turn of the year and in the end fell short of Thierry Henry's assist record when he looked certain to smash it at one point. There is no doubt that he has the ability to unlock defences, though, and with plenty of competition in that area of the field he will be eager to impress today.
Gotze may well have been joining Ozil in the Premier League next season amid reported interest from Liverpool, but the player himself appears to have pulled the plug on that move by insisting that he wants to stay with Bayern. He has struggled to earn a regular starting spot for club or country in recent years, though, and like Ozil he will be desperate to show what he can do against some fierce competition in his own squad.
Toni Kroos also comes into the midfield just a week removed from helping Real Madrid to Champions League glory in Milan, and he will hope to cap that season with success in France this summer too. He is expected to start for Germany at the tournament, although the presence in the squad of Bastian Schweinsteiger - albeit with fitness concerns - does create even more competition. Perhaps the most at risk from him is Khedira, who starts for the second game in a row today, as does Draxler.
Leading the line tonight is Thomas Muller, who will go into the Euros this summer off the back of his best goalscoring season for Bayern. He has always been good for big, important goals, but he found an even greater prolific streak this term, and if he carries that into the summer then Germany will stand a very good chance of winning it. Muller has an excellent record at major tournaments too, so he may not be a bad shout for top scorer.
HUNGARY STARTING XI: Király; Fiola, Guzmics, Lang, Kádár; Pintér, Nagy, Dzsudzsák, Kleinheisler, Lovrencsics; Szalai
Hungary, meanwhile, make just two changes from their last outing, and this could well be the side we see running out for their opening match of Euro 2016. Manager Bernd Storcker has resisted the temptation to switch his squad around and get a look at some fringe players in their final warm-up game, but Pinter and Lovrencsics are perhaps the two with the most to prove to the manager today.
In truth, it is not a Hungary side that is expected to go far in this year's tournament, but Germany will still be wary of the threat they pose due to their recent form. The reigning world champions haven't lived up to their billing since lifting the trophy for a fourth time in Brazil, and Joachim Low will be keen to get a win under his belt before travelling to France. While warm-up friendlies are usually more about getting the team ready, the result could actually be quite important to Germany today.
Of course, you can never count out the Germans at a major international tournament as they usually seem to reach the latter stages with relative ease. In addition to their four world titles, Die Mannschaft have also lifted the European Championship trophy on three occasions, doing so in 1972, 1980 and most recently in 1996, when football was supposed to come home.
They are rated by most bookies as the second favourites to add a fourth trophy to that tally this summer, behind only host nation France. The world champions are always going to have fairly short odds, but it may not be too straightforward for Germany. In addition to their form, which I will discuss more a little later, they have been drawn in a tricky group alongside Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland. It is a group that they will expect to progress from as winners, but it certainly isn't the easiest selection they could have been handed.
Their Euro 2016 group is actually fairly similar to their qualifying group, coming up against Poland in both and Republic of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland while reaching this summer's tournament. They did eventually make it to France as group winners, but it was by no means plain sailing for Joachim Low's side. They only finished top by one point above the Poles, losing twice and amassing 22 points from their 10 games.
It is a record most teams would take in a heartbeat, but for the world champions it wasn't entirely convincing, and it could have been worse too. They were run very close in both games against Scotland, winning 2-1 and 3-2, and were also beaten by both Poland and Ireland - taking just one point from their two games against the latter. Indeed, they looked like they could be in a spot of bother when they only won four points from their opening three games, but five consecutive wins then put them in control of the group.
Since the end of qualifying, though, Germany have lost three of their four games, with the only exception being a 4-1 victory over Italy. Indeed, their poor form in friendlies stretches back further, with that Italy win being their only one in their last six non-competitive fixtures, with four defeats from their last five. The most recent of those was that defeat to Slovakia last weekend, although the game was played in torrential conditions which did have a big impact on the match.
At home, Germany have only won five of their last 11 games, which for a nation of their calibre is a pretty poor record. That includes defeat to England in March and Slovakia last time out, and another loss today would see them beaten in back-to-back games at home for the first time since 2009. One of the big concerns for Low right now will be their defensive record too, with his side failing to keep a clean sheet in their last eight outings - a run that stretches back almost a year to their 7-0 win over Gibraltar in qualifying.
There are certainly stats to give today's visitors some optimism, then, and a good result for Hungary today would raise their hopes of doing well in this summer's competition hugely. They are not expected to go particularly far in France, although the draw has been kind to them so they will fancy their chances of putting up a good fight for qualification from their group. Even then, though, they would have to pull off one or two surprises.
Hungary will begin their campaign against Austria on June 14, while they have also been drawn alongside European Championship new boys Iceland and the hit-and-miss Portugal. Portugal are, of course, favourites to win the group thanks largely to the presence of one Cristiano Ronaldo, but while Austria and Iceland both enjoyed better qualifying campaigns than Hungary, Bernd Storck's side should be able to hold their own for the most part against the other two teams.
It is Hungary's first appearance at a major international tournament since the 1986 World Cup and their first taste of the Euros since 1972, and barring a heavy defeat today then they will go into it in pretty high spirits. Their form is certainly good, with no defeats in their last four outings and only one in their last 11 since being beaten by Russia in November 2014.
That solitary defeat came in their final qualifying campaign as they lost 4-3 to Greece, although that match is very much an anomaly for Hungary. They don't score many goals or concede many either usually, which does have the benefit of rarely being thrashed by an opposing team. The margin of victory or defeat for Hungary recently has been one goal, and they haven't lost by more than that since October 2013, although that was an 8-1 loss to Netherlands.
None of Hungary's qualifying matches were settled by more than one goal, with Bernd Storck's side having to play 12 including their playoff against Norway. They got off to a slow start with defeat to Northern Ireland being followed by a draw against Romania and a narrow victory against the Faroe Islands, but after that opening defeat they did go eight games without defeat, including five consecutive clean sheets, before finished with that seven-goal thriller against Greece.
The fact that they only just squeezed past the Faroe Islands by one-goal margins in both of their matches against them gives some idea of their level, although they did overcome Norway relatively comfortably in the playoffs, winning 3-1 on aggregate. Even so, they are the team to have qualified with the least points (only including nations to have played 10 qualifying games), the joint-fewest goals and the worst goal difference.
They just about got the results they needed, though, and they have evolved into a team who first and foremost are tough to beat. They have only lost one of their last six friendlies and, looking much further back, just four of their last 28 since August 2010, while they have also only been beaten once in their last six away games, winning half of those. Considering Germany's recent clean sheet record Hungary will be confident of at least finding the back of the net today too - they have only failed to score in one of their last 19 away games since September 2010, although they have also only scored more than one goal once in their last 11 outings on the road.
PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, which means that it is time for a prediction! It is not often that Hungary will have come into this fixture as the form team, certainly in the last 50 years, but they do today. However, Joachim Low has named a strong squad and, without the dreadful conditions they were forced to endure against Slovakia, they should be able to do better here. I'm going for a 2-0 home victory.
These two sides have faced each other on 32 previous occasions, and Germany just about edge the overall head-to-head record. They have won 12 of those 32 meetings, with 10 finishing all square and 10 ending in wins for Hungary.
The most famous meeting between the two sides came in the 1954 World Cup final, when Hungary's 'Magical Magyars' were expected to lift the Jules Rimet for the first time. Star player Ferenc Puskas was not fully fit, but Hungary still had what was widely regarded to be the best team in the world at that stage and had thrashed West Germany 8-3 earlier in the tournament. What followed has since gone down in football history as 'the Miracle of Bern', though, with the Germans running out 3-2 winners in one of the biggest World Cup final shocks ever.
The most recent meeting between these two sides came six years ago in a pre-World Cup friendly which Germany won 3-0, with Podolski, Gomez and Cacau all on the scoresheet. The last time Hungary visited Germany, though, they came away with a win as Sandor Torghelle scored twice to fire his side to a 2-0 win just over 12 years ago.
Right, the players are out and the anthems have been belted out, so we're just about ready to go now! Just 90 minutes of football remain before these two turn their full attention to the Euros.
KICKOFF: Here we go then! Germany get us underway for this final Euro 2016 warm-up match in Gelsenkirchen!
DISALLOWED GOAL! It takes Germany less than a minute to have the ball in the back of the net, but the linesman's flag is up! It is magnificent football from the hosts and Gotze plays the killer ball for Draxler to convert at the back post, but his celebrations are cut short. The replays show that he was well onside, though.
More good football from the hosts sees the ball break to Gotze inside the area, but his shot is blocked before it can test Kiraly. This has been a very bright start from the home side.
It has been one-way traffic from Germany so far. They have controlled the ball deep inside the Hungary half, with the visitors unable to even get into the Germany half at the moment.
Concern for Germany here as Boateng is down on the sidelines and receiving treatment. They certainly won't want to lose him at the last hurdle...
It doesn't look like it is anything serious, though. Boateng is back on, and you can be sure that Low would not have risked him if there was any doubt whatsoever.
SHOT! This would have been some goal! Muller hoists a cross into the box and Draxler goes for a spectacular bicycle kick, but it flies a long way off target. He did brilliantly to even reach it, though.
CHANCE! The first hint of a chance for Hungary here as Pinter makes a late run into the box to latch on to a cross and nod it goalwards, but he steers it well off target.
SAVE! Brilliant save from Kiraly as he is at full stretch to get the very tip of his finger to Muller's 25-yard effort!
CHANCE! Oh what a chance this is from the resulting corner. The marking from Hungary is non-existent and Rudiger steals in to meet Ozil's delivery completely unmarked. However, he gets his header all wrong, steering it well off target when he had to score!
Germany will be pretty happy with how they have started this match, but the one thing missing is a goal, which was their problem in the Slovakia game too.
SAVE! Hungary almost score against the run of play, though, as Dzsudzsak dips inside onto his left foot and fires a low strike towards goal. It is central, but Neuer can only parry the ball back out to Szalai. The striker is offside, but Neuer recovers anyway to make a brilliant follow-up save.
This has been an entertaining game so far, with Germany dominant for the most part but showing one or two frailties in defence. Hungary, whilst being very much on the back foot, will take some hope from the fact that they have create two decent chances already.
As impressive as Germany look in possession, those two Hungary chances and their lack of a killer instinct in the final third both at the start of this game and in the Slovakia game could be a bit of a concern for Low.
Hungary have a crack at goal from just outside the area, but it goes harmlessly wide of the target as Neuer watches it comfortably past the post.
The visitors have done a decent job of stemming the flow of German chances in the last few moments. It is a fairly even game at the moment, even though Germany continue to dominate possession.
Draxler goes down here after being struck in the midriff by the ball. It looks like he is only winded though and he will be fine to continue.
Another optimistic effort from Kleinheisler as he tries to let fly from 30 yards, but he doesn't catch it right at all and it trickles well wide.
CHANCE! Almost a chance for Hungary as Dzsudzsak threads a fine ball in to Szalai inside the box, with the striker momentarily looking as though he is one on one with the keeper. However, he can't sort his feet out and Rudiger gets back to make a challenge.
CHANCE! Half a chance for the visitors again from the resulting corner as Dzsudzsak's corner finds Pinter at the back post, and he lifts a volley back towards the middle. It floats over the head of Neuer, but just skims the top of the bar on its way behind.
Half a chance for Germany at the other end as Boateng swings a cross into the box, but it is Gotze at the back post and heading is not his strong point. He does win the header, but can't get it anywhere near the target.
Khedira is the latest player down and receiving treatment here after contesting a 50-50 challenge and seemingly hurting his right ankle. He looks like he will be able to continue, though.
Just over 10 minutes remain in this first half now, and Hungary will be delighted with what they have seen so far. They should have been behind inside one minute and were forced to weather a bit of an early storm, but they have really grown into the game.
YELLOW CARD! Kroos is the first name in the book today for a late challenge on Pinter.
GOAL! Germany 1-0 Hungary (Adam Lang own goal)
Germany get the breakthrough with just six minutes remaining of the first half! It is a good team move from the hosts as they come forward down the left flank, with Hector collecting the ball on an overlapping run before playing a low pass in towards the near post. Gotze is attacking it and slams it home at the near post, although the replays suggest that it may have come off Adam Lang last. Gotze is claiming it for now, but that could go down as an own goal.
Kleinheisler tries another ambitious effort as he tries to lift a looping volley towards goal, but it drops comfortably wide of the target.
YELLOW CARD! Kleinheisler joins Kroos in the book, but he can feel hard done by with that one. That was a questionable booking in a normal game, yet alone a friendly.
Germany win a free kick in a decent position that Kroos lifts to the back post to find Muller following some inventive movement. Muller lifts it back into the middle and it almost drops for a couple of white shirts but Hungary eventually get it clear.
HALF TIME: Germany 1-0 Hungary
The first half comes to an end at the Veltins Arena, and it is Germany who lead 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen. It is a deserved lead for the hosts, who have dominated proceedings and could have been two of three ahead inside the opening 15 minutes, although Hungary did settle into the match as it wore on and will be pleased with a lot of their work in that opening 45 minutes.
The goal arrived with just six minutes remaining of the first half, and it has since been credited as an own goal from Adam Lang rather than a Mario Gotze strike. It was a good team move from the hosts that created the chance, with Hector supplying the final ball with a low pass in towards the near post. Gotze had made the run and was tracked by Lang, with the ball bouncing off the shin of the Hungarian defender and past a helpless Kiraly.
Germany should have been ahead inside the very first minute when Draxler applied the finishing touch to a fine team move at the back post, but the linesman's flag was raised incorrectly to disallow the goal. Rudiger also missed a glorious chance in the 11th minute when he was left completely unmarked from a corner, which came from a fingertip spot from Gabor Kiraly to deny Muller.
At that point Joachim Low may have been worried that his side would once again shoot themselves in the foot by failing to make the most of their chances, and Hungary provided a few warning shots to remind the hosts that they were very much in the game. Dzsudzsak was the most dangerous player for the visitors, testing Neuer with a low effort and creating two other good chances for Szalai and Pinter respectively.
KICKOFF: Hungary get us back underway for the second half in Gelsenkirchen, and the hosts have made two changes at the break with Hector and Khedira being replaced by Mario Gomez and Emre Can.
Interestingly it is a straight swap between Can and Hector, which means that the Liverpool man is playing on the left side of defence now. He is versatile, that's for sure!
Germany have quickly resumed control of the possession in this match as the rain arrives in Gelsenkirchen. It is nothing compared to the torrential conditions from the Slovakia game, though.
Half a chance for Germany as the ball is lifted into the area for Draxler, who nods it down into a dangerous area. It is just too far away from Muller, however, and Hungary are able to clear the danger.
Shooting chance for the visitors at the other end as Can's poor clearance only goes as far as Kleinheisler, who as we have seen already today is not shy when it comes to shooting despite being 18 months without a goal. This effort hits his own man on the way through and goes behind for a goal kick.
Germany advance with pace again here as Draxler attacks down the left before slipping a pass inside for Muller, but he can't sort his feet out.
Germany want a penalty as Kroos plays a one-two on his way into the box, but when looking to latch on to the return pass he goes down. There was contact, but it would have been a soft penalty.
Draxler is the latest to have a shooting pass having cut inside and collected a pass from Kroos, but he is off balance and skews his effort well off target.
HUNGARY SUB: The visitors make their first change of the match as the 37-year-old former West Brom and Fulham man Zoltan Gera replaces Pinter.
GERMANY SUB: The hosts also make a sub as Andre Schurrle comes on in place of Draxler.
We're into the final half an hour in this match now, and there hasn't been much to shout about in this second half so far. It was quite an entertaining contest in the opening 45 minutes, but we're still waiting for our first real chance since the interval.
GOAL! Germany 2-0 Hungary (Thomas Muller)
Germany have their second, and it is international goal number 32 for Muller! There is a suspicion of offside against Gomez as the ball is lifted through to the striker, and his header is well kept out by Kiraly. Muller is in the right place at the right time to follow in and convert the rebound at the far post, though.
HUNGARY SUB: Hungary make a change immediately after that goal, with Tamas Priskin replacing Szalai.
CHANCE! Priskin almost makes an immediate impact as he races in behind the defence and finds Neuer in no-man's land. He tries to lift the ball over the keeper, but puts too much on the lob and it drops off target.
It is hard to see any way back for Hungary in this match now. They played fairly well in the first half, but they have been comfortably second best throughout and can't have any real complaints at trailing by two.
GERMANY SUBS: A double change for Germany as Leroy Sane and Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger replace Muller and Kroos.
This has been a good, comfortable run-out for Germany today. They have played some good football without really needing to get out of second gear, and it should certainly repair any damage done to their confidence from their recent results.
Hungary manager Bernd Storck still has a few subs to use in this one, but it is interesting that he has stuck with the bulk of his team so far. Perhaps an indication that it is not too dissimilar to the team that will start their Euro 2016 opener.
This German performance won't exactly strike fear into their rivals at Euro 2016 this summer, but it has been quietly confident and at the very least should warn teams not too take too much for Germany's last few results.
The hosts are just knocking the ball about at their own pace right now, dictating the tempo of the game. Both teams seem to know that this one is over as a contest.
GERMANY SUB: Another change for the hosts sees Lukas Podolski replace Gotze.
Hungary have offered very little in this second half, it must be said. The Priskin chance was their only real sight of goal, although they showed one or two signs in the first half that they might pose a couple of problems in France.
HUNGARY SUBS: A double change from Hungary as Kleinheisler and Fiola depart to be replaced by Barnabas Bese and Zoltan Stieber.
Hungary, to their credit, are still working hard off the ball to prevent Germany from adding to their lead in the closing stages here, but they know that this one is over and has been for some time.
Tougher tests will come for Germany in this summer's tournament, with Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in their group, but the way they have controlled this game suggests that their place as favourites to win the group is not under much threat.
A rare piece of action from Neuer as he comes racing out of his box to act as the sweeper keeper, comfortably clearing the danger. Both sides just waiting for the final whistle now...
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.
YELLOW CARD! A late yellow card is shown to Gera for pulling back Schweinsteiger.
FULL TIME: Germany 2-0 Hungary
Germany bounce back to winning ways with a routine victory over Hungary then, with an own goal from Adam Lang and Thomas Muller's second-half strike proving to be the difference in Gelsenkirchen. It was a dominant display from the visitors, who rarely needed to get out of second gear, and both sides will now focus on their opening matches at this summer's tournament.
That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's game as Germany ease to victory over Hungary. I will leave you with our match report, but from me it is goodbye for now!

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