Revamped Germany Edge Dutch, Centurion Hazard On Target In Belgium Win
25th March 2019
Bayern stopper Manuel Neuer may also come under pressure for his place after De Ligt beat him with a flying header just after the restart
- Germany's Nico Schulz sealed a thrilling 3-2 win over the Netherlands in a see-saw Euro 2020 qualifier as Joachim Loew's new-look line-up survived a severe test on Sunday
- Elsewhere, World Cup finalists Croatia stumbled to a 2-1 defeat in Hungary, and Eden Hazard celebrated a century of caps with the opening goal in Belgium's 2-0 win over Cyprus
- Chelsea star Hazard celebrated his 100th cap by scoring the opener in their 2-0 win over Cyprus in Group I with Michy Batshuayi grabbing the second as Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois went largely untested in the Belgian goal
PARIS, France- Germany's
Nico Schulz sealed a thrilling 3-2 win over the Netherlands in a see-saw Euro
2020 qualifier as Joachim Loew's new-look line-up survived a severe test on
Sunday.
Elsewhere, World Cup finalists Croatia stumbled to a 2-1
defeat in Hungary, and Eden Hazard celebrated a century of caps with the
opening goal in Belgium's 2-0 win over Cyprus.
A revamped Germany raced into a 2-0 lead in Amsterdam with
thrilling strikes from Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry but the hosts struck back
with a second half header from Matthijs De Ligt before Memphis Depay pounced
for an equaliser on 63 minutes.
The four-time world champions were put under immense
pressure from a Netherlands side seeking a winner but the visitors, who were
booed by their own fans in a 1-1 friendly draw against Serbia last Wednesday,
snatched victory in the 90th minute through 25-year-old Schulz. The Hoffenheim
midfielder, who made his international in August, tapped home a loose ball
after a tireless Sane had taken the defence with him on a run into the box.
The win comes after Loew took an axe to Germany's squad
ahead of the qualifying campaign in the aftermath of last year's calamitous
World Cup elimination, when he told Bayern Munich trio Thomas Mueller, Jerome
Boateng and Mats Hummels they had no future in the national side.
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Bayern stopper Manuel Neuer may also come under pressure for
his place after De Ligt beat him with a flying header just after the
restart. Neuer, 32, was also slow to react as Depay pounced for the equaliser.
Dutch 'keeper Jasper Cillesen was left with little chance
after Gnabry ended his mazy run by outwitting Virgil Van Dijk before sending a
rasping long-range effort into the bottom corner in the early action.
- Modric powerless -
Chelsea star Hazard celebrated his 100th cap by scoring the
opener in their 2-0 win over Cyprus in Group I with Michy Batshuayi grabbing
the second as Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois went largely untested in the
Belgian goal.
Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric was powerless to stop beaten
World Cup finalists Croatia from slipping to a 2-1 defeat to Hungary in Group E
on Sunday as Mate Patkai notched a 76th minute winner in Budapest.
Croatia had struggled against Azerbaijan in their opening
qualifier last Thursday before escaping with a 2-1 win, but they made the
perfect start in the Hungarian capital when Ante Rebic put them ahead on 13
minutes.
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But Hungary pulled level through Adam Szalai's fifth goal in
as many games and with a quarter of an hour left, 31-year-old Patkai scored his
first international goal to pull off a famous victory.
Scotland got back to winning ways with an uninspiring 2-0
win at perennial makeweights San Marino, following an embarrassing defeat at
Kazakhstan in their opening qualifier.
"It was a wee bit nervy, it's been a tough few days for
everyone," admitted Scotland coach Alex McLeish.