Germany’s rebuilding seems to be going well.
Denis Undav scored two goals as the four-time World Cup champions extended their unbeaten streak in the Nations League to three matches with a strong 2-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.
The Netherlands, despite being down to 10 players, managed to secure a 1-1 draw in Hungary.
After the retirements of Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos, Germany has started a new chapter, and their clean and smooth performance against a determined Bosnia team looks promising for the future.
Germany leads their group after previously defeating Hungary 5-0 and drawing 2-2 with the Netherlands.
Even without some key players, Germany played confidently, created intricate attacking plays, and seemed to enjoy the game. They had many chances to score more and had a couple of goals ruled out for offside.
“I knew that Bosnia and Herzegovina are good defensively but you have to keep in mind that we had many chances,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. “That’s why Bosnia and Herzegovina stayed in the game.”
The only negative was a defensive mistake when Hungary’s Edin Dzeko scored to pull one back 20 minutes before the end.
The visitors took the lead in the 30th minute, thanks to a smart play from Florian Wirtz. The unmarked midfielder received a lofted pass in the box and, instead of shooting, unexpectedly passed it back to Undav, who finished calmly.
Undav, who scored in his first start for Germany against the Netherlands, was sharp on Friday.
His Stuttgart teammate Maximilian Mittelstädt set him up six minutes later with a great cross, allowing Undav to double Germany’s lead with an easy tap-in from close range.
Bosnia’s Ermedin Demirovic, also from Stuttgart, hit the post in the 35th minute, but Dzeko scored in the 70th with a header from a corner, marking his 67th goal for the national team.
