Signs of life for Germany in Euro group of death

For Germany, there are signs of life in Euro 2020’s group of death and the possibility that the old masters are stirring once again with a new generation to carry on the tradition.

This was an emphatic win over Portugal, for whom Cristiano Ronaldo scored his third goal of the tournament before the Germans responded with four of their own, helped by Portugal becoming the first team to score two own-goals in one game at the continental tournament, as the Germans took a 4-2 victory and ended fears of another group-stage exit.

For Joachim Low, a World Cupwinning manager who seems to look more uncomfortable in his skin with every game, it was vindication of his decision to stay with the 3-4-3 formation from the defeat by France. His wing backs, Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens, were the outstanding players in this game and so Group F goes down to the last round of fixtures on Thursday.

The 1-1 draw between France and Hungary in Budapest means Germany are level with Portugal on three points and in second place by virtue of the head-to-head. They play Hungary in Munich and now look best placed to finish in the top two at the very least.

Chelsea’s Kai Havertz scored his first goal of the season playing as a central striker and was involved in all of the first three for Germany.

Although they took the lead, 2016 champions Portugal never looked like they would get close to winning this game.

Although Ronaldo did what Ronaldo invariably does, the night was disappointing for some of the other big Portuguese names, including Bruno Fernandes and Dias.

“Altogether, it was a class performance. Great attitude, great morale. We deserved to win by this amount,” said Low.

Havertz added: “It was important for us that we didn’t throw everything overboard after the lost game against France, but stuck to our plan. We trust the coach, we trust the system.”

In Budapest, Antoine Griezmann scored a second-half equaliser to give France a 1-1 draw with Hungary. It was Griezmann’s 38th goal for France, moving him three behind third-place Michel Platini on the national team’s scoring list.

In Seville, Robert Lewandowski helped keep Poland’s hopes alive by scoring a second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Spain. Sweden top Group E with four points, ahead of Slovakia (three) and Spain (two). Poland, despite having just one point from two games, still have a chance of advancing.