The national soccer team... - The DFB team experiences no European Championship celebration after failing to score.
The German national football team's domination and offensive drive failed to generate more excitement for their home tournament. In their penultimate test match against Ukraine in Nuremberg, coach Julian Nagelsmann's selection missed several exciting scoring opportunities and ended the game with a score of 0:0, just eleven days before their opening match against Scotland. Nagelsmann was baffled as to why the ball wouldn't go into the goal.
With the return of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, they at least achieved a zero score. In front of 42,789 spectators at the sold-out Max-Morlock-Stadium, Neuer bravely blocked several shots. To win their fourth European Championship title, the team needs more efficiency and goal-oriented play in the attack. The team's misfortune was evident when debutant Maximilian Beier struck the goalpost.
Their final test chance comes on Friday in Mönchengladbach against Greece. Nagelsmann will have to submit his final squad to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) shortly after that. After the final scoring chance, Nagelsmann will focus on fine-tuning the team in Herzogenaurach's training camp.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz Share Interest in Game
Chancellor Scholz watched the game in Nuremberg, hoping for a "great football festival for all of Europe." He even reminded the fans with a song from the 2006 World Cup summer fairy tale: "We will become world champions." To build excitement at the beginning of the game, the team had their fans participating with chants, even without Champions League winners Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger. Germany controlled the game against the tightly packed Ukrainian defense throughout the first half, but without decisive passes into the penalty area.
Gündogan's Big Chance
Captain Ilkay Gündogan missed an opportunity to score the game's first goal in the 15th minute, failing to shoot into the goal after a cross by Pascal Groß. The fans encouraged the effort, but it was the only decent chance the team had during the first half. Nagelsmann coached energetically from the sidelines, implementing a game plan with Bayern's Jamal Musiala and Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz as super-creative players in the midfield.
Defensive Pressure from Ukraine
Despite their control of the game, weaknesses in the defense emerged when Chelsea's Mykhaylo Mudryk led a counterattack early in the game (4th) and Roman Yaremchuk tested Neuer twice (38th and 45th+1).
Several VfB Professionals on the Field
Nagelsmann made changes during the second half, bringing in Deniz Undav and Chris Führich to replace Wirtz and Gündogan. He also brought in Waldemar Anton and Maximilian Mittelstädt for Rüdiger. For a while, the German team launched a powerful attack on the Ukrainian penalty area with chances from Kai Havertz in a header (53.) and Undav.
Nagelsmann Made Further Changes
In the 70th minute, Bayern youngster Aleksandar Pavlovic made his DFB debut. As the game entered the final phase, Führich challenged the Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatolij Trubin (78.). Neuer's risky pass to a waiting opponent (89.) caused a moment of panic but had no consequences.
