Flick explained that he also “had a hard time” with his coaching team when it came to filling the double six, which was formed by the well-rehearsed duo Kimmich/Leon Goretzka. In the end, gut feeling tipped the scales against “a team that is unknown”.
In fact, Italy is a European champion in transition: after missing out on qualifying for the desert World Cup and three days after the sobering 0-3 draw against South America champion Argentina in the “Finalissima”, national coach Roberto Mancini opted for total rotation. Only goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma remained in the starting XI.
Gnabry with the first chance to score in the game
At temperatures of almost 30 degrees in the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, which was by no means sold out, the German team, which was made up of seven Bayern professionals, initially successfully tried to press. For the first goal chance, however, it required a single action. Serge Gnabry, whose future at Bayern Munich is unclear, tanked up on the right and checked Donnarumma from an acute angle (15th).
After that, the German momentum waned, technical errors crept in on the well-watered pitch, and Italy got into the game better and better. After around 20 minutes, Flick, who was almost continuously on the sidelines, shook his head.
Many of his players had last played a game three weeks ago, and this was becoming increasingly apparent. Center forward Timo Werner was largely in the air in his 50th international match, shots were mainly made from a distance – and often missed the target.
Despite missing the World Cup qualification: wave goes through the stadium
The newly formed Squadra Azzurra, on the other hand, became more and more effective. When center forward Gianluca Scamacca shot from around 20 meters at the outside of the post, national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was no longer there (35th). The best German attack of the first half fizzled out in the 38th minute because Thomas Müller in his 113th international match (number five in the DFB ranking) and Goretzka acted too indecisively and Gnabry missed the margin.
As the wave swept through the stadium after the break, Italy kept getting stronger, especially over the tall Scamacca. After almost an hour, the weak Leroy Sane made way for his Munich club colleague Jamal Musiala. Hofmann came on for Henrichs, who couldn’t recommend himself any more than Kehrer, whose side made it 0-1 (70).
Kimmich equalized with his fourth goal in the 65th international match, Joker Hofmann had initiated. The equalizer was the initial spark, Kimmich again forced Donnarumma to make a strong save (79th).
SID news agency
Follow-up coverage of the game on “RTL”