Undav double hands Germany 2-1 win over Bosnia to stay top in its Nations League group
Germany tops Group A3 on seven points from three games, with the Dutch in second place on five. Hungary is on two and Bosnia is in last place on one point.
Published : Oct 12, 2024 07:37 IST , ZENICA, BOSNIA - 2 MINS READ
Germany’s Deniz Undav celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammate Robert Andrich during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League A Group A3 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday in Zenica, Bosnia. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Germany forward Deniz Undav scored two first-half goals in six minutes to guide it to a 2-1 victory over Bosnia on Friday and keep it top of its Nations League group.
The Germans, missing several players through injury, including Jamal Musiala, Niclas Fuellkrug and Aleksandar Pavlovic, were in control from the start but apart from a Pascal Gross shot off target, had no clear chances against the disciplined host.
They had to wait until the half-hour mark to break the deadlock when Robert Andrich floated a cross for Florian Wirtz, who, with his back to the Bosnia goal, fed Undav for a first-time finish.
The VfB Stuttgart striker then doubled their advantage six minutes later, poking in a Maximilian Mittelstaedt cross.
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The visitor should have scored more and put the ball in the net three more times only for the efforts to be ruled out for offside.
Bosnia, which hit the woodwork through Ermedin Demirovic, cut the deficit when Edin Dzeko scored with a header at the far post in the 70th minute to inject some late tension into the game but it could not get the equaliser.
“Overall I am satisfied with the performance,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. “We did not allow too many counter-attacks. We maybe had too few goals for the dominance we had.
“But we had to see how much we want to go for a third goal, after conceding one, and having made some substitutions. And we also had to think about the game on Monday (against the Netherlands).”
Nagelsmann also said that midfielder Chris Fuehrich would not be available for Monday, having picked up a muscle injury after coming on as a substitute.
Germany tops Group A3 on seven points from three games, with the Dutch in second place on five. Hungary is on two and Bosnia is in last place on one point.