———-

Germany 4 (Reus 23, 90, Gotze 27, Gundogan 32)

Kazakhstan 1 (Schmidtgal 47)

Germany thumped Kazakhstan 4-1 on Tuesday that saw the visitors give the favourites some trouble in the second half.  Germany had previously won 3-0 four days ago in Kazakhstan and immediately put the visiting team under pressure.

Reus opened the scoring in the 23rd, Mario Goetze doubled the lead in the 27th and Ilkay Guendogan made it 3-0 in the 31st, before Reus completed the victory in the 90th. Heinrich Schmidtgal scored for Kazakhstan at the start of the second half after an error by Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Germany hit the frame of Kazakhstan’s goal six times, but Kazakhstan also hit the post in the second half.

Reus scored the first after collecting a pass from Mesut Oezil and shot from 20 yards out after passing the ball through the legs of Valeriy Korotkin. Captain Philipp Lahm charged down the right flank and raced past three Kazakhstan defenders before slipping a pass for Goetze to drive home from close range. The Germans passed the ball for more than two points before Oezil found Guendogan, whose deflected shot bounced into the net.

Neuer gifted Kazakhstan its goal in the 46th. Neuer tried to dribble past two Kazakhstan players after a back pass from Per Mertesacker, but lost the ball and Schmidtgal, who plays for Greuther Fuerth in the Bundesliga, shot into the empty net. Reus was one of the four new players in Germany’s line-up after missing Friday’s match through suspension, and he scored his second late in the game after a through ball from Guendogan. But before that, Korotkin hit the post of Germany’s goal. Germany was not as dominant in the second half, but still wasted several chances that were denied by some outstanding saves from goalkeeper Andrei Sidelnikov. 

—————-

Rep of Ireland 2 (Walters 25P, 45)

Austria 2 (Harnik 11, Alaba 90)

In what was a thrilling match on Tuesday Evening in Dublin, Group C rivals Austria and Ireland drew two goals apiece. The night had started brightly for the visitors netting an early goal after an Irish defensive mistake which saw Zlatko Junuzovic cross the ball in for Martin Harnik to slot it home after only 12 minutes.

The game was relatively even and in the 25^th minute Ireland was awarded a penalty after a tackle by Emmanuel Pogatetz on Shane Long. Jonathen Walters made no mistake and put the Irish level. The game went back and forth until mere seconds before the half time Walters headed home a poorly defended corner kick.

As the Irish fans were already celebrating the three points in the 92^nd minute, Austria’s young star David Alaba took a magnificent shot which took a fortunate deflection and landed in the back of the Irish goal. 2:2 the final score and Austria remains 2^nd in Group C. 

—————–