Deniz Undav laid down a marker to Kai Havertz as his brace secured Germany a hard-fought 2-1 Nations League win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Germany beat Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-1
- Undav bags brace in Nations League win
- Djeko pulls goal back in thrilling contest
TELL ME MORE
Germany took the lead in the 30th minute when Florian Wirtz’s sumptuous pull back set up Undav, who dispatched his effort with aplomb. Tim Kleindienst looked to have doubled the visitors’ advantage, only for his strike to be ruled out for offside but Undav made no mistake in the 36th minute when he tucked home Maximilian Mittelstadt’s superb cross into the six-yard box. The Stuttgart forward thought he had grabbed a hat-trick but Kleindienst was offside in the build-up again, and then Serge Gnabry also had a goal chalked off for the same reason. Veteran Edin Djeko pulled a goal back with a well guided header 20 minutes from time to set up an exciting finale. Both sides had chances to either win it or secure an equaliser respectively but in the end, Julian Nagelsmann’s side held at Stadium Bilino Polje to inch closer to the quarter-finals of the Nations League on Friday night.
THE MVP
Deniz Undav was in lethal form against Bosnia and was a whisker away from bagging his first hat-trick for his country. The former Brighton man’s performance may keep Arsenal’s Havertz – who was ruled out for these games due to injury – on his toes in the bid to lead Germany’s attack going forward.THE BIG LOSER
Bosnia’s Ermedin Demirovic had a glorious chance to level the game at 1-0 down in the first half when put through on goal. However, the Stuttgart attacker, who admittedly was to the right of the goal when he bore down on Germany’s penalty area, couldn’t keep his shot down, as his powerful effort cannoned off the bar. If that had gone in, it could have been a very different story.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Germany, who sit top of their Nations League group, face second-placed Netherlands in their next match of the competition on Monday night. Bosnia, on the other hand, host Hungary on the same date for a battle to see who comes third in the group.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA VS. GERMANY HIGHLIGHTS
Deniz Undav goal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (30th min, Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-1 Germany)
Germany have lift-off on the half-hour mark, as Undav is the beneficiary of an absolutely exquisite assist from Bayer Leverkusen star Wirtz.
The latter beats the offside trap with a perfectly-timed run to meet Robert Andrich‘s lofted pass, but rather than go for goal from a few yards out, he taps the ball back to the arriving Undav.
The Stuttgart striker ensures that Wirtz would not live to regret being unselfish with a clinical first-time finish into the bottom corner!
.png)
Deniz Undav goal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (35th min, Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-2 Germany)
Make that three goals in two starts for Germany for Undav, who doubles his and Die Mannschaft’s tally for the night just five minutes after his opening strike.
On this occasion, left-back Mittelstaft delivers a low ball to the six-yard box, where Undav gets ahead of his man and comfortably side-foots home to put Germany in cruise control.
Deniz Undav disallowed goal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (58th min, Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-2 Germany)
Undav momentarily thinks that he has his hat-trick goal, picking up the pieces after Tim Kleindienst‘s close-range effort is saved by Nikola Vasilj, but Kleindienst had just strayed offside as Mittelstadt delivered the cross.
Edin Dzeko goal vs. Germany (70th min, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-2 Germany)
Germany should have been out of sight, but instead, the 2014 World Cup winners are in for an incredibly nervy finale, as Bosnia-Herzegovina skipper Dzeko cuts the deficit in half!
The 38-year-old peels away at the back post to meet Benjamin Tahirovic‘s corner, and his header finds the bottom corner past Alexander Nubel, who did not cover himself in glory with a weak attempt to push the ball past the post.
