Winning their first two group games by an aggregate score of 7-1 to secure progression to the knockout stages, Germany headed into this clash at Deutsche Bank Park looking to rubber stamp their place at the Group A summit.
Instead, Julian Nagelsmann’s men were tactically upstaged by Switzerland before the break, with star players Toni Kroos and Jamal Musiala impressively shackled by the Red Crosses.
Despite their struggles, Germany still looked as though they’d struck first when Robert Andrich beat Yann Sommer from long range, only for the strike to be ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
Switzerland took full advantage of that reprieve, breaking the deadlock before the half-hour with their first shot of any description.
Remo Freuler was allowed too much space on the left, and his cross found Bologna teammate Dan Ndoye, arriving at the near post to fire past Manuel Neuer
Ndoye came inches away from a second moments later, dragging a shot agonisingly wide after he remarkably showed a clean pair of heels to Antonio Rudiger. A half to forget for Germany was made even worse when Jonathan Tah picked up his second booking of the tournament, ruling him out of their Round of 16 clash.
The hosts were tasked with overturning a deficit for the first time in this tournament, and their pressure was almost constant following the restart.
Musiala saw a powerful strike from distance beaten away by Sommer, while Kai Havertz headed over from close range before Joshua Kimmich was denied by a heroic block from Manuel Akanji.
Nagelsmann utilised a full complement of substitutes as the Germans chased a leveller, and after Neuer made a tremendous save to deny Granit Xhaka, two of the hosts’ replacements combined for a late equaliser.
David Raum’s pinpoint cross from the left was met by Fullkrug, who expertly directed his header into the far corner to score for the 13th time in 19 appearances for his country.
That secured top spot in the group for Germany while extending their unbeaten run to seven matches, a streak that can be matched by Switzerland, who finish as runners up.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Remo Freuler (Switzerland)
Check out the match stats here.
