Munich: World champions Germany survived a late scare to see off Saudi Arabia 2-1 and end their five-game winless run in the build up to the World Cup in Russia.
Germany looked to be heading for a comfortable win at Bay Arena of Bayer Leverkusen when youngster Timo Werner opened the scoring and Omar Hawsawi’s own goal doubled their lead in the first half.
But Saudi Arabia, who will feature in the opening match in Russia against the hosts made late comeback when Taisir Al-Jassim smashed in the rebound, after a Mohammad Al-Sahlawi penalty was saved by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen five minutes from fulltime.
Joachim Low’s side then escaped strong claims for a second spot kick waved away in stoppage time when Al-Sahlawy went down under a challenge from captain Mats Hummels to end their worst run in last 30 years.
The match was overshadowed by the unhealthy incidents took place off the pitch. Manchester City ace Ilkay Gundogan was targeted by the home fans for a second consecutive game as each of his touch was booed after the player was introduced as a substitute in the second half.
Gundogan and Mesut Ozil with strong Turkish roots were criticised by the German Football federation as well as the politicians over a picture they took with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan in London last month in which Gundogan addressing him in a social media post as “my president”.
“He’s a member of the national team and that [booing] does not help anyone,” said German head coach Low who was annoyed and irritated by the attitude of the fans towards the player.
The coach went on to voice his discontent at his side’s performance, but was adamant they will ready when they face Mexico in their opening World Cup game next Sunday.
“Today we missed a lot of chances, were really open in defence and allowed too many counter attacks from Saudi Arabia,” he said. “In the end, we were lucky to win.
“I’m not worried, because I know we’re going to keep on improving. When it gets going, we’ll be ready.
“Next week, we’ll be sharper, more dynamic and have even more power.”
Elsewhere, Croatia came from a goal down to defeat Senegal 2-1, thanks to second-half goals from Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric, while Switzerland continued their impressive form with a 2-0 win over Asian side Japan.
Iran scored a late winner to defeat European minnows Lithuania 1-0, while Poland blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with South American side Chile who narrowly missed out from qualifying for Russia world Cup.
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