Germany's unbeaten run comes to an end against Brazil in Berlin
Germany's preparations to defend their FIFA World Cup crown in Russia this summer suffered a blow with a 1-0 defeat to fellow tournament hopefuls Brazil, a first loss for Joachim Löw's side since July 2016.
Germany 0-1 Brazil
Goals: 0-1 Gabriel Jesus (38')
Against an unusually defensive-minded Brazil side – shorn of the injured Neymar – Germany, captained by Jerome Boateng, made an enterprising start, with Leroy Sane and Mario Gomez both troubling the Selecao back four. Ilkay Gündogan and Leon Goretzka kept popping up in space, although both spurned preventable opportunities before Gabriel Jesus shot over from close range in the 36th minute. The Manchester City striker made amends for his wastefulness two minutes later, bundling the ball over the line from close range to give Brazil a slender advantage at the interval.
The goal knocked the stuffing out of Germany, who emerged uncharacteristically passively after the restart. Indeed, an injury suffered by Boateng seemed to knock Joachim Löw's side off their stride, and it took an excellent save from Kevin Trapp to prevent Paulinho doubling the visitors' advantage in the 55th minute. The introduction of Sandro Wagner, Lars Stindl and Julian Brandt gave the world champions a second wind in the closing stages, but although Germany ended on top, they failed to find a goal and slipped to a first defeat since 2016.
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Match stats
- This loss was Germany's first in 23 games; the last time Die Nationalmannschaft tasted defeat was against France (2-0) in the UEFA EURO 2016 semi-finals.Germany's last defeat in Berlin came prior to UEFA EURO 2016 (March 2016): a 3-2 loss to England.Germany (four) and Brazil (five) boast nine World Cups between them.The last time these sides met competitively – in the World Cup 2014 semi-finals – Germany won 7-1.Of that starting line-up, only Boateng and Toni Kroos began tonight. Sami Khedira and Mats Hummels were substitutes.This was Stindl's first defeat in a Germany shirt.
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Line-ups
Germany: Trapp - Kimmich, Boateng (c) (Süle 68’), Rüdiger, Plattenhardt - Goretzka (Brandt 61’), Kroos, Gündogan (Werner 81’) - Sane (Stindl 61’), Gomez (Wagner 62’), Draxler
Unused subs: Leno, ter Stegen, Ginter, Hummels, Hector, Rudy
Absentees: Neuer (foot), Müller, Özil (both unspecified), Can (back), [not selected: Reus, Götze, Schürrle]
Coach: Joachim Löw
Brazil: Alisson - Dani Alves (c), Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo - Paulinho, Casemiro, Fernandinho - Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Coutinho (Douglas Costa 73’)
Unused subs: Renato Augusto, Fagner, Neto, Firmino, Ismaily, Marquinhos, Fred, Ederson, Taison, Rodrigo Caio, Willian Jose
Absentees: Neymar (foot) [not selected: Rafinha, Naldo, Alex Sandro, David Luiz, Oscar]
Coach: Tite
As it happened