Soccer
Germany vs. Italy result: Timo Werner bags twice in Nations League thrashing – Sporting News
Germany ran riot against Italy as they recorded a 5-2 thrashing to pick up their first win of their UEFA Nations League campaign.
Following three successive draws, including a 1-1 struggle against the Italians 10 days ago, Germany were keen to put on a show for their home fans at Borussia Park as Timo Werner bagged two goals in as many minutes.
Goals from Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Gundogan and Thomas Muller added to the rout while Italy scored late consolations courtesy of Wilfried Gnonto and Alessandro Bastoni.
Italy were second best throughout, with Gianluigi Donnarumma enduring a busy evening between the sticks and performances like this give some indication of why the European champions failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year.
As for Germany, Hansi Flick’s side finally got into gear following lacklustre displays in their previous outings. The players can now head off on their summer holidays for a much-needed rest before returning for pre-season next month.
Germany sit second in League A Group 3, one point behind Hungary, who handed England their worst home defeat since 1928 with a 4-0 thrashing.
The Sporting News was following the match live and providing live score updates, commentary – check out how the action unfolded below.
MORE: UEFA Nations League 2022 fixtures, results, tables, standings
Goals:
GER – Joshua Kimmich (10th min)
GER – Ilkay Gündoğan (45th+3 min)
GER – Thomas Muller (51st min)
GER – Timo Werner (68th min)
GER – Timo Werner (69th min)
ITA – Wilfried Gnonto (78th min)
ITA – Alessandro Bastoni (90th min +3)
That’s more like it! 🇩🇪💪#DieMannschaft #GERITA pic.twitter.com/IeK0HUJhqV
FULL-TIME: Germany 5-2 Italy
90th min +3: GOAL! Germany 5-2 Italy
Another consolation goal for Italy as Bastoni heads home a corner at the near post.
90th +3 min: Neuer pulls off a stunning one-handed save to deny Dimarco’s unbelievable strike from 25 yards out.
90th min: Stach also makes an instant impact but can’t steer his shot on target from a cutback.
88th min: Jonathan Tah and Anton Stach both come on for Niklas Sule and Gundogan. There’s also a brief pause as a couple of fans have got onto the pitch, evading security.
85th min: Dimarco does well to get the ball up the field on the left wing and then switches it to Barella but his cross is poor and sums up the evening.
83rd min: Kimmich fouls Gnonto in the middle of the pitch. The talented teenager has been one of the few bright sparks for Italy this evening.
78th min: GOAL! Germany 5-1 Italy
Gnonto, the 18-year-old from FC Zurich, finds the back of the net to give Italy a consolation goal. He taps in from close range following Neuer’s save from Dimarco’s initial shot from the left.
76th min: Schamaccha, who has 16 Serie A goals to his name this season, is on but you feel it’s a little too late.
74th min: Goalscorers Muller and Werner are taken off with Jamal Musiala and Lukas Nmecha on.
69th min: GOAL! Germany 5-0 Italy
Donnarumma gives the ball away clumsily and Werner keeps his compose to slot past him and grab his second of the night. What a mess at the back for Italy.
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Italy’s night goes from bad to worse! 😬
Donnarumma gifts Germany a goal that Timo Werner finishes to make it 5-0 🎁 pic.twitter.com/kQFNCODo7g
68th min: GOAL! Germany 4-0 Italy
Gnabry cuts the ball back to set Werner up and the Chelsea striker finally gets his goal, converting from inside the six-yard box.
67th min: Gundogan tries to place his shot into the bottom right of the goal from the edge of the box but it’s blocked.
66th min: Spinazzola is off for Federico Dimarco of Inter Milan.
63rd min: Barella wriggles past Rudiger but his shot is wild and goes over the bar. Serge Gnabry is on for Hofmann.
61st min: Antonio Rudiger gets a yellow card for bundling Wilfried Gnonto to the ground.
59th min: Kimmich plays the ball into the box which is cleverly dummied by Sane with Werner arriving at the back post, but the Chelsea striker’s shot is a tame one.
58th min: Sane’s run through the Italian backline is just offside but Donnarumma pulls off a decent save from point-blank range. Germany aren’t in the mood to stop at three goals this evening…
55th min: Barella is convinced he’s scored but Neuer pulls off a brilliant save. Caprari plays in Barella who takes it round Neuer and somehow he gets back to clear it off his line. Replays show Barella was just offside anyway but nonetheless that was right out the top drawer from Neuer.
Thomas Muller has scored his 44th goal for Germany.
The Bayern Munich forward moves up into sixth-place in the all-time top goalscorers list. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/XfoOVbFYQj
51st min: GOAL! Germany 3-0 Italy
Muller gets in on the action. Spinazzola can’t clear the cross and his attempted clearance falls at the feet of Muller who hits it first time into the back of the net in ruthless fashion.
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Just look at how much scoring for Germany still means to Thomas Müller! 👏
A dominant 3-0 lead for Hansi Flick’s side against Italy now 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/Bl5KoN226O
47th min: Huge change for Italy goes begging as Cristante is presented with some space on the edge of the box but fires his shot wide.
46th min: Double change for Italy as Gianluca Caprari and Giorgio Scalvini come on for Davide Frattesi and Raspadori.
We’re underway!
HALF-TIME
45th min +3: GOAL! Germany 2-0 Italy
Ilkay Gundogan blasts the ball straight down the middle to round off an excellent opening 45 minutes.
45th min +2: Penalty to Germany! Hofmann is barged over by Alessandro Bastoni inside the box and there’s no complaints from the Italians there.
43rd min: Politano is taken off and Luiz Felipe is on for his Italy debut.
42nd min: Cristante is in a bit of pain as he looks to have come off worse in a collision and is pointing to discomfort in his ribs.
41st min: Another big save from the Italian shot-stopper. Sane passes to Werner on the right who takes a touch and unleashes a powerful shot that forces Donnarumma to tip it over the bar.
38th min: Neat feat from Thomas Muller allows Sane into space but his shot from the edge of the box is at a comfortable height for Donnarumma to deal with.
35th min: A poor effort from Nicolo Barella from the edge of the box goes way over. The Italian looks to the turf in dismay.
33rd min: A great attacking passage of play sees Werner play in Hofmann on the right and his first-time effort prompts Donnarumma to get down quickly to his left to deny him.
29th min: Some patient build-up play from Italy from a corner eventually ends with a weak cross from Politano and it’s easily cleared.
26th min: Werner finds space on the right this time but in attempting to cross, Leonardo Spinazzola blocks, and it ricochets off Werner and out for a goal-kick much to the German’s frustrations.
23rd min: Cristante is lucky to escape without a card after pulling Sane’s shirt as the German got away from him in midfield.
20th min: Matteo Politano goes down after taking an accidental whack to the face from David Raum’s arm when going up for a header. The resulting free-kick is whipped into the box and Bryan Cristante heads over the bar from way out.
17th min: Italy are struggling to get possession of the ball right now and keep giving it away in midfield with some sloppy passes.
14th min: Werner is finding plenty of space down the left but his cross evades everyone. Rudiger has a free header from the resulting corner but it goes wide.
10th min: GOAL! Germany 1-0 Italy
Joshua Kimmich opens the scoring. He has all the time in the world to take a touch and bring down the cross from the left inside the box and fires past Donnarumma.
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Joshua Kimmich breaks the deadlock! 💥
Germany strike first against Italy in this clash of European football giants 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/qdmOoLRrnb
8th min: Huge double save from Manuel Neuer to deny Giacomo Raspadori who fires straight at the goalkeeper from inside the six-yard box after connecting with a cross from the right.
‘𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘦’ 😳#DieMannschaft #GERITA 1-0 pic.twitter.com/tAudOFGGud
6th min: Leroy Sane has the first real big chance of the evening. Italy are caught on the break and Sane picks the ball up on the edge of the box but drags his low shot just wide of the left post.
3rd min: A positive start from Germany who win their first corner. Antonio Rudiger goes for the header but it’s punched clear by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
1st min: Timo Werner finds himself in a great position inside the Italy box but gets his feet in a muddle and his initial shot is blocked.
We’re underway!
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What a night of LIVE football kicking off now in the Uefa Nations League! 🙌
🇩🇪 Germany v Italy 🇮🇹 – Premier Sports 1
🇺🇦 Ukraine v Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪 – Premier Sports 2
🇳🇱 Netherlands v Wales 🏴 – BoxNation pic.twitter.com/Epf4WYYT2s
5 mins from kickoff: The teams make their way out and it looks to be at near enough full capacity. The national anthems are next.
10 mins from kickoff: A reminder that Italy sit top of League A Group 3 ahead of tonight’s match, one point clear of second-placed Hungary.
Hungary take on bottom of the table England tonight at Molineux which can be followed below.
England vs. Hungary live score updates
30 mins from kickoff: Jonas Hofmann has been the star of the show for Germany in the Nations League so far, scoring the opener against England and then again in the 1-1 draw with Hungary. He’ll feel at home tonight with the Borussia Monchendgladbach midfielder playing at his home ground.
60 mins from kickoff: The teams are in…
Tonight’s Germany line-up to face Italy 🇩🇪🇮🇹#DieMannschaft #GERITA pic.twitter.com/vwtR1HTaoP
Our starting XI for #GERITA 📋💙#NationsLeague #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/XljnvF5dV9
90 mins from kickoff: What happened last time these two met then? Germany and Italy played out a 1-1 draw just ten days ago in Bologna. Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the scoring for the hosts on 70 minutes before Germany levelled immediately through Joshua Kimmich. This will be the last of the four matches each side will have disputed before the summer break so expect either plenty of tired legs or one big final runout before the players go on their holidays.
2 hours from kickoff: Hello, and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of tonight’s UEFA Nations League match between two footballing giants. It’s hardly been the most exciting of Nations League competitions so far but we’re expecting plenty of goals in this one. Stay tuned for team news updates.
Hello from BORUSSIA-PARK 👋🏟️#DieMannschaft #GERITA pic.twitter.com/YdQVxNbBVN
MORE: What is the Nations League and how does the Nations League work?
In the US, televised UEFA Nations League games are also available on fuboTV.
In Canada, every UEFA Nations League game streams live on DAZN.