Double packer Deniz Undav leads Germany’s “Notelf” to victory

Julian Nagelsmann congratulated his players on successfully passing their character test, and match winner Deniz Undav then celebrated with the rest of the team in front of the fan curve: After the mercilessly effective “Notelf” ultimately mastered the tricky task in Bosnia and Herzegovina with simple wobbles with a 2-1 victory ( 2-0), the national coach and the double packer were happy and relieved.

With another win on Monday (8:45 p.m./in the live ticker) in Munich against arch-rivals the Netherlands, the DFB selection can advance early to the knockout round.

Undav (30th, 36th) put the guests in Zenica on the road to victory before the break. Veteran Edin Dzeko made things exciting again (70th) and ensured a heated final phase, but the leaders of Group A3 didn’t let anything go.

“After the 2-1 it got hot again. But we got it done confidently,” said Undav on RTL.

Nagelsmann, who was required to be a hobbyist, relied on two debutants in the starting line-up after seven failures: Alexander Nübel guarded the goal, Tim Kleindienst stormed and was supposed to cause danger with his header against an opponent who was expected to be deep. “He is exceptionally good in the air,” emphasized the national coach on RTL shortly before kick-off.

In front of 13,500 spectators in the rosy, charming Bilino Polje stadium, the first goal belonged to the hosts, who lined up with five German legionnaires. Ivan Basic put a free kick just wide of the goal (4th).

The DFB team had to defy resistance

“A completely different sport awaits you,” Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirovic warned the guests in view of the unusual circumstances. The small space, the loud supporters and the robust work were the responsibility of Bosnians – the four-time world champion had to defy some resistance and acted a bit sluggishly and imprecisely in the early stages.

The offensive with returnees Serge Gnabry, Undav, Florian Wirtz and Kleindienst showed that they had never played together like this before. The first shot also belonged to full-back Maximilian Mittelstädt (15th).

The Bosnians, who were well recruited by HSV idol Sergej Barbarez, acted passionately and courageously and at the same time were massively in the 5-3-2 system. Despite having 80 percent possession of the ball, the guests had little idea in the first 20 minutes. The missing creative players Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz were missed in this phase, even when Pascal Groß caused danger from distance for the first time (25th).

The first successful combination led to the lead. Wirtz delivered a long pass from Robert Andrich with a lot of overview for Undav, who didn’t miss the chance. Shortly afterwards, Kleindienst also celebrated, but the Gladbach player was just offside.

DFB team with aluminum luck and bad luck for offside

Bosnia resisted. The 38-year-old Dzeko left Demirovic on the trip, and the Stuttgart player’s shot hit the crossbar (35th). The DFB selection, however, remained ice-cold in their pink and purple away jerseys. Undav pushed a Mittelstädt cross over the line for his third international goal.

The two-goal lead initially gave the favorites security; the guests controlled the encounter with long periods of possession at the beginning of the second half. Undav missed the chance to make it 3-0 (55th) after Gnabry’s preparatory work, then the 28-year-old’s third goal was disallowed due to an official offside position by Kleindienst (58th).

The DFB selection continued to combine very fluidly and the sharpness of their passes was right. The desire to finally decide the game was clearly noticeable. At the same time, Nagelsmann saved his energy for the encounter on Monday. He made three substitutions 25 minutes before the end, with Mainz’s Jonathan Burkardt also making his international debut.

But the guests remained determined. Gnabry scored the third offside goal of the evening (68th). Dzeko’s header goal came out of nowhere – which made things hectic again.