Match awards from Germany’s 2-0 win over Israel

You never know what to expect from an international friendly, but I think most fans will agree that they wanted a little more than what we got tonight. Germany had nearly 70% of the possession for the match, but struggled to put the ball in the back of the net. The Chelsea duo of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner had plenty of chances in the first half to score, but each netted one to put Germany up 2-0 at halftime. Each team had a chance to add to the scoreline from the penalty spot, but Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller hit the woodwork on his attempt and Kevin Trapp made a decent save in stoppage time to keep the shutout for Germany. Here are our match awards:

Jersey Swap: Ofir Marciano

Although many fans will be critical of Germany’s ability to finish, Israel’s keeper deserves a lot of credit. Marciano, who plays for the Dutch club Feyenoord, had seven saves on the night, saving his team from being embarrassed by a lopsided blowout. Most of the saves made were fairly routine, but a few of them required him to dive down or make a snap decision to deter the German attackers.

Der Bomber: Jamal Musiala

At Bayern, Hansi Flick gave Musiala the chance to break into the first team and now at only 19 years old, Jamal Musiala already has had ten caps for the senior national team. Musiala repaid his former club coach with a great game. I don’t think that the commentator mentioned anyone else’s name during the 90 minutes, as Musiala seemed to always have the ball. Almost every attack — especially the dangerous ones — went through him. Unfortunately, due to the lack of finishing, Musiala walks away without an assist. But this goes to show that you can have a great match, without getting on the scoresheet.

Fußballgott: Ilkay Gündogan

The Manchester City midfielder captained the first half of the match, putting in a solid 45 minute shift. Germany’s high press and almost constant possession allowed Gündogan to get into attacking positions. Shortly before Germany’s first goal, he had a great interplay with Havertz who chipped the ball into the box for Gündogan to chase. He was able to get a shot off, but unfortunately went well wide. In the one minute of first half stoppage time, Gündogan tallied an assist from a great free-kick to the near post, where Timo Werner was able to get free and slot the ball into the back of the net.

Der Kaiser: David Raum

Hansi Flick’s back-four all performed well for 90 +3 minutes of the match, but Raum gets the nod for Der Kaiser due to his assist on the opening goal. Playing at his home stadium, the Hoffenheim leftback played well on both sides of the ball. Before being subbed off in the 63rd minute, Raum took seven corners, all of which were great services into the box. On the night, Raum recorded four key passes, created two big chances, and had the assist on Havertz’ goal — in addition to performing his defensive duties.

Meister of the Match: Kai Havertz

Havertz had an extraordinary match against Israel. Not only did he have great opportunities to score, he also set up his teammates with great chances. It might be easy to reflect on the misses or the chances that were left wanting, but in the end Havertz was the most dangerous attacker on the field for Germany. His towering header off of Raum’s corner opened the scoring for Germany in the 36th minute. In addition to his goal, he recorded four key passes and due to Germany’s high press, Havertz even helped out on defense to win the ball back in Germany’s attacking half. All in all, an impressive night for Kai Havertz.