Tribal Football

Nothing to separate Germany and Ukraine in pre-Euros stalemate

Danny Clark
Ukraine's Mykhailo Mudryk (left) challenges for the ball with Germany's Jamal Musiala
Ukraine's Mykhailo Mudryk (left) challenges for the ball with Germany's Jamal MusialaProfimedia
Euro 2024 hosts Germany were held to a frustrating stalemate by Ukraine in their penultimate match before this summer’s tournament, as Serhiy Rebrov’s side extended their unbeaten streak to six matches (W4, D2).

Looking to gain momentum in the first of two warm-up fixtures ahead of their tournament opener against Scotland, Julian Nagelsmann’s side started brightly against Ukraine.

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The best opportunities of a closely fought opening half-hour fell the way of Florian Wirtz and Ilkay Gundogan, but neither player was able to trouble Anatoliy Trubin in the visitors’ goal.

Both sides continued to probe for a breakthrough as the first half progressed, and it was Roman Yaremchuk who came closest for Ukraine with a sharp strike that was smartly saved by Manuel Neuer.

Ukraine's Taras Stepanenko and Germany's Pascal Gross vie for the ball
Ukraine's Taras Stepanenko and Germany's Pascal Gross vie for the ballAFP

The early stages of the second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Kai Havertz directing a close-range header narrowly wide of the target for the hosts.

Nagelsmann’s men looked to up the ante after the hour mark, and substitute Maximilian Beier nearly had an immediate impact, striking the post with his first touch before being denied by Trubin moments later.

As time ticked into the final 20 minutes, the one-way traffic from Germany showed no signs of slowing down. Chris Fuhrich saw a low effort thwarted by the impressive Trubin, while Artem Dovbyk had a goal disallowed for offside at the other end of the pitch.

Ultimately, there was nothing to separate the two teams, as Germany look ahead to their final match against Greece on Friday before kicking off Euro 2024 on June 14th.

As for Ukraine, they’ll look to continue their impressive recent form against Poland and Moldova in the coming week.

Key match stats
Key match statsFlashscore

Flashscore Man of the Match: Anatoliy Trubin (Ukraine)

See all the match stats here.