One week left for Joachim Loew to fix Germany's spluttering engine
Germany coach Joachim Loew said there were bright spells and shadowy patches as Die Mannschaft were held 1-1 by Denmark in a friendly before Euro 2020, which kicks off next week.
The former world champions twice hit the woodwork and missed more chances before settling for a stalemate with the Danes in Austria yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus opened the scoring for Germany early in the second half, but Yussuf Poulsen's leveller ensured the match finished all square.
With 2014 World Cup winners Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels back in the squad after more than two years and going straight into the starting line-up, the Germans looked sharp from the start.
Neuhaus tested Kasper Schmeichel early on and the goalkeeper then saved a Mueller header in the 13th minute.
Leroy Sane should have done better in the 27th minute when he was left unmarked in front of goal but his effort went over.
The Danes survived another close call a little later when Joshua Kimmich whipped a low cross across the goal and three players failed to connect.
Serge Gnabry went even closer, hitting the crossbar with a curled effort just before the break. Neuhaus then tapped in three minutes after the restart to give Germany a deserved lead.
"We defended well over long periods of time and we did that better than in previous games," said Loew.
"But we lost our focus a bit midway through the second half, lost possession a few times and we made it difficult for ourselves by not making 2-0."
Germany's backline had shut out the Danes for 71 minutes, but were beaten when Christian Eriksen delivered a defence-splitting pass for Poulsen to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with their first chance of the game.
Matthias Ginter hit the bar six minutes later and Germany failed to find a winner with the many substitutions late in the second half taking the pace out of the game.
The Germans' final tune-up will be against Latvia next week.
"Communication was better, it was louder on the pitch. Today was a good start but some things still need to be worked on," said Loew, who will end his 15-year stint as Germany coach after the Euros.
"We will have our full squad in training from Friday and then we will have over a week to really tighten the screws." - REUTERS
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