Germany 1-1 Spain
A spectacular strike by Thomas Muller earned Germany a draw in Dusseldorf against one of the teams most likely to push them furthest in Russia.
The betting websites have installed Germany as one of the two favourites to win the trophy, along with Brazil, but Spain is not far behind: the early betting odds say they could well make the last four. And when you reach that stage, you’re in the game to win it.
Spain meant business tonight and caught their hosts on the hop, on just six minutes, when Andres Iniesta put Rodrigo through on goal and the Valencia striker fired home. Not exactly what the expectant crowd at the Esprit Arena had counted on, but it sparked the hosts into life. Julian Draxler had a chance to strike back immediately only to see his shot blocked.
Spain seemed to be coping well with any German threat as halftime approached… until they were hit by a thunderbolt. Sami Khedira found Thomas Muller just outside the box, and the Bayern man fired a screamer into the top corner.
After a cagey start to the second half, Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan replaced the injured Khedira and he soon tested David de Gea with an arrowed shot which the Manchester United keeper tipped around the post. And the hosts came within a whisker of going ahead on 65 minutes when Toni Kroos crossed for Mats Hummels to see the defender crash his header against the bar.
With time running out, Diego Costa came closest for Spain but saw his shot blocked.
This wasn’t a classic, but these two highly fancied teams displayed as much as they wanted to show, and there was little encouragement for the rest.
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