Germany fail to keep lead as Turkey stage comeback in friendly
Kenan Karaman scored late to give Turkey a 3-3 draw against Germany on Wednesday night after the home side let the lead slip away three times in their friendly game.
Karaman – who was born in Stuttgart and plays for Fortuna Dusseldorf – scored in the fourth minute of injury time when Abdulkadir Omur laid the ball back for him to fire through goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s legs.
#Germany hosted #Turkey in a 3-3 draw friendly game. Was a good one. So hopeful with our lads. https://t.co/HsN04VQPQ0
— 🇹🇷 Umut Acar (@AcarUmut) October 7, 2020
Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus scored on his Germany debut and Freiburg forward Luca Waldschmidt got his first international goal, but the home side was left ruing a lack of concentration after failing to hold on for the win.
The game was overshadowed by fresh allegations of tax evasion by the German soccer federation and by the high number of coronavirus infections in Cologne. Only 300 spectators were allowed to attend.
Prosecutors raided the federation’s offices and some members’ private homes early Wednesday, searching for evidence that it may have avoided paying about 4.7 million euros ($5.5 million) in taxes.
Germany coach Joachim Low had to make do without many of his regulars, including Ilkay Gundogan, who tested positive for the coronavirus, Leroy Sane, Suat Serdar, Timo Werner, and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The Bayern Munich contingent of Manuel Neuer, Niklas Sule, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry was excused, as were two Leipzig players and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos.
Julian Draxler had an early goal ruled out for offside, but otherwise the visiting players had more chances until Low’s side gradually improved midway through the half.
Draxler – Germany’s captain on the night – finally made the breakthrough in first-half injury time, when Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz combined to set him up.
But Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan equalized in the 50th, taking the ball from German-born teammate Kaan Ayhan and eluding Brandt before shooting inside the top corner.
Leno denied Cengiz Under from scoring another goal minutes later, before Neuhaus capped his debut with a goal after playing a one-two with Havertz in the 58th.
FULL TIME: Germany 3-3 Turkey
Six Goal thriller in the Mesut Ozil Derby as Turkey come back three times to earn a draw pic.twitter.com/GRRQKrg2Ds
— Football Fans Tribe 🇳🇬 ⚽ (@FansTribeHQ) October 7, 2020
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The home side complained bitterly when Efecan Karaca robbed the ball from Neuhaus and equalized in the 67th, but no foul was given. Emre Can was booked for his protests.
Waldschmidt got his first goal for Germany in the 81st, but Karaman had the final say.