Germany won 3-1 in an international match against the United States held at Rentschuller Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, on the 15th (Korean time).
Germany got off to an uneasy start, giving up the first goal to American Christian Pulisic (AC Milan) in the 27th minute of the first half. However, in the 39th minute of the first half, Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona) scored a goal with a left-footed shot, ending the first half with the score tied 1-1.
Germany then succeeded in a comeback in the 13th minute of the second half with a right-footed shot by Niklas Füllkruck (Dortmund). Just three minutes later, in the 16th minute of the second half, Jermall Musiala (Bayern Munich) scored with help from Führkruk to seal the game.
On this day, Germany outperformed the United States overall, leading by 19 to 6 shots and 7 to 3 shots on target.
There is another reason why today’s victory was more meaningful to Germany. This is because it is Coach Nagelsmann's debut game as head coach. Germany suddenly fired coach Hansi Flick after suffering a crushing 1-4 loss to Japan in the international match last September, falling into a swamp of three consecutive losses. It was the first time in 38 years that Germany lost three times in a row in an international match.
Germany, which suffered the bitter taste of being eliminated in the group stage at last year's Qatar World Cup following the 2018 Russia World Cup, entrusted the baton to coach Nagelsmann, a young leader born in 1987, in order to revitalize its recently stagnant atmosphere.
Germany, which recently fell to 15th place in the FIFA rankings, laid the foundation for a rebound by comfortably beating the 11th-ranked United States in the first game under coach Nagelsmann. Germany is the host country for the European Championships to be held next year.
On the other hand, the United States, which is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada, recently ended its two-game winning streak. In addition, it was coach Gregg Berhalter's first loss since he took office in June of this year.
Coach Berhalter, who took over as head coach of the U.S. national team in December 2018, led the U.S. national team to the World Cup in Qatar last year before stepping down from his position and returning to coach the national team again in June of this year.
Meanwhile, Germany will play a friendly match against Mexico on the 19th, and the United States will play a friendly match against Ghana on the 18th.