Hungary 0-3 Germany

Posted Sunday, May 30, 2010 by Goal.com

It took some doing, but Germany finally made their possession count...

Germany made a quick start to their international friendly match against Hungary tonight, as Lukas Podolski got his name on the scoresheet with only four minutes on the clock. Mario Gomez and Cacau added to the tally later in the game.

Podolski made his intent clear in the early stages as he bounded forward with his chest puffed out, his progress winning the visitors a corner kick. From the set-piece, Per Mertesacker was seen to have had his shirt pulled by Hungarian forward Sandor Torghelle as the referee pointed to the spot.

Podolski stood over the ball and duly buried it in the net, leaving Gabor Kiraly with no chance.

Mesut Ozil was the early star of the match, carving out numerous chances for the Germans with some great one-touch build-up play with Piotr Trochowski and Sami Khedira. Dominating possession, the visitors kept pressing for their second goal.

Torghelle broke free of his marker as the game approached the 20-minute mark, but despite looking slick after pickpocketing Khedira, the big striker's shot went skywards.

The game began to slow down as the clock ticked onwards in the first half, but with the Germans still enjoying the majority of possession and peppering the Hungary goal with pop-shots, the proceedings were far from boring.

It really was a spectacle to watch as Ozil threatened over and over, only to be denied time and again by the very capable hands of Kiraly.

Unable to slide the ball past the Hungarian custodian, the visitors had to settle for a single goal advantage at half time.

A good bit of reshuffling by Joachim Loew saw the visitors return to the pitch in a 4-4-2 formation with Cacau and Dennis Aogo replacing Khedira and the very dangerous Mesut Ozil. Akos Elek replaced Vilmos Vanczak for the Hungarians.

The changes sparked a difference in the match as Hungary began to cut out more chances for themselves. Equally though, Germany continued to threaten themselves.

It had been tough for the visiting side as they were short of a good ball-winning midfielder, but as the game wore on, the legs of the hosts grew tired.

Marko Marin took advantage, drifting in from the wing and picking up the ball before heading goalwards and sending the ball into the path of Mario Gomez. The Bayern striker's first touch was heavy, but he managed to eventually poke the ball through the legs of Kiraly.

And that was it for the home side. Dejected and tired, it took only three minutes before Cacau forced an error from Hungary. The Stuttgart frontman picked up on a loose ball near the box and easily rounded Kiraly before finishing well to make it 3-0.

In the dying stages, the hosts found a second wind. Liverpool's Krisztian Nemeth was the first to heckle Manuel Neuer, but the German custodian did terrifically well in a one-on-one situation with the youngster.

It was then Elek who tested Neuer before PSV's Balazs Dzsudzsak fired the rebound inches wide of the post and squandered the hosts' last chance of a consolation goal.

With 92 minutes on the clock, the referee blew for full time, and Joachim Leow beamed a smile of content as he congratulated his side on a well played warm-up match for this year's World Cup.