The German national team suffered its first defeat under national coach Julian Nagelsmann against Turkey. It is a setback on the way to the home European Championship in 2024.
Germany lost 2:3 (1:2) against Turkey on Saturday (11/18/2023) in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which was sold out with 72,592 spectators. After the win against the USA and the draw against Mexico, Nagelsmann lost in the third game for the first time as national coach. Kai Havertz and Niclas Füllkrug scored the goals for Germany, while Ferdi Kadioglu, Kenan Yildiz and Yusuf Sari scored for Turkey with hand penalties in front of tens of thousands of Turkish fans.
Yusuf Sari (M.) from Turkey celebrates his goal to make it 3:2.
It is a setback for the German team before the home European Championships in the summer of 2024; on Tuesday the team will play against Austria in Vienna. Since being eliminated from the preliminary round at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Germany has lost five of ten games and won three of them. “As a team we had a good level of emotion”said Nagelsmann in the sports show. “We have to close the game in the first ten minutes. But individual players didn’t always have the same level of emotion as the opponent. We have to improve because we don’t have any time to waste.” The groups for EURO 2024 will be drawn on December 2nd in Hamburg.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
March 25, 2023 | Peru | 2:0 |
March 28, 2023 | Belgium | 2:3 |
June 12, 2023 | Ukraine | 3:3 |
June 16, 2023 | Poland | 0:1 |
June 20, 2023 | Colombia | 0:2 |
September 9, 2023 | Japan | 1:4 |
September 12, 2023 | France | 2:1 |
October 14, 2023 | USA | 3:1 |
October 18, 2023 | Mexico | 2:2 |
November 18, 2023 | Türkiye | 2:3 |
November 21, 2023 | Austria |
Germany takes the lead early – but Turkey finds answers
“Especially with a view to a big tournament, it is important to be stable,” said Julian Nagelsmann before the game on RTL. The national coach, who is supposed to lead the team to the home European Championship in 2024, surprised with an unusual measure: Kai Havertz played as a left-back. And the plan initially worked: Benjamin Henrichs released Leroy Sané on the right, who found the left-back in the penalty area with his pass – Havertz took the lead. An early goal initially seemed to confirm the good impressions from the trip to the USA.
The German team was strong offensively, but made serious mistakes defensively. Turkey found suitable answers before the break. Abdülkerim Bardakci drove the ball forward on the left, the German defense misjudged Ferdi Kadioglu, Kadioglu shot the ball powerfully into the goal of goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (38th). Turkey, which has long since qualified for the European Championships in Germany, continued to apply pressure and even took the lead: Once again, a long pass on the left side of the Turkish attack caused problems for the German team. Kenan Yildiz appeared free in front of Trapp and courageously shot into the right corner (45th + 2).
Ferdi Kadioglu celebrates his equalizer.
“We conceded three goals – again. That’s too much at this level”said Germany captain Ilkay Gündogan in the sports show. “We weren’t aggressive enough. We made it too easy for the Turks to pass the ball back and forth. Then you end up running behind a lot – and of course that shouldn’t be our benchmark.”
Füllkrug equalizes, but Turkey scores again
The German team also started the second half well and equalized shortly after the restart. Florian Wirtz drove the ball deep into the Turkish half and fed Niclas Füllkrug, who scored from twelve meters (49′).
Niclas Füllkrug celebrates his equalizer against Turkey.
But Turkey remained powerful. Salih Özcan hit the post from 18 meters in the 52nd minute – and in the 69th minute the video assistant reported to the referee a potentially punishable handball; Kai Havertz had hit the arm while running. The Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski awarded a penalty, Yusuf Sari fortunately converted to give Turkey another lead, goalkeeper Trapp was still there (71′). Yilmaz could have increased the score to 4-2 in the 82nd minute, but he didn’t score, as did Serge Gnabry, who narrowly missed a pass from Henrichs (86′). “Wanting it badly – that’s important for us. I think we weren’t all at 100 percent.”said Füllkrug in the sports show. “We didn’t reach Turkey’s emotional level in the first half.”
Turkish international Salih Özcan raved about the atmosphere that made for a real home game for Turkey. “The meeting is always special, I think”said Özcan in the sports show. “We felt good, we took the fans with us, we enjoyed it and it feels indescribably beautiful.”
The situation before the game was politically charged
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was in Germany on a state visit on Friday and Saturday, did not appear at the game. Several demonstrations on the Middle East conflict and the situation of the Kurds in Turkey mainly involved police forces. A fan march by Turkish fans before the game was peaceful.