Germany beat ten-man Cameroon to win group - FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP
- Germany finish top of Group B
- Kerem Demirbay and Timo Werner both score first international goals for Germany
- Relive: As it happened, stats and more
Germany defeated Cameroon 3-1 to finish top of Group B at the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi in front of 30,230 fans.
After a goalless first half, highlighted by a superb save from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Die Mannschaft eventually found the breakthrough thanks to Kerem Demirbay, who scored his first goal for Germany with a thunderbolt finish 25 yards from goal after captain Julian Draxler played him through with a neat flick.
Cameroon were reduced to ten men in the 64th minute when, after a video assistant referee review, Ernest Mabouka was sent off for a late challenge on Emre Can.
Werner then gave Germany a two-goal cushion with a diving header, his first goal at senior international level, from Joshua Kimmich's cross on the right wing.
Vincent Aboubakar found the net with a glancing header with ten minutes remaining, but Werner restored Germany's two-goal lead, ensuring their first-place position in the group and becoming the first German to score two goals in a single Confederations Cup match with his close-range, accurate finish.
The victory means that Joachim Low's side will stay in Sochi for their semi-final against Mexico on 29 June.
FIFA.com team reporter analysis
"Die Mannschaft have reached all of the goals they outlined before the tournament. They are in the semi-finals and can also stay in Sochi, which was a wish they had communicated before tonight's game. Altogether, it was a rather mature display, but there were some holes in defence which should be closed for the upcoming semi-final against Mexico. However, that is no real surprise when you consider that this team has not been playing together for more than a few weeks, and by the end of the group stage every single outfield player has made a tournament appearance."
Steffen Potter, Germany team reporter
"The miracle did not happen. Cameroon tried to press the Germans from the beginning, but it was clearly too hard with the same starting XI for the third match in a row. It proved difficult as well to surprise Germany, who cleverly waited to make the difference with superior technical quality. The expulsion of Ernest Mabouka did not help. There was consolation for Vincent Aboubakar, who leaves Russia with one goal."
Pascal De Miramon, Cameroon team reporter
Budweiser Man of the Match
RasenBallsport Leipzig forward Timo Werner was finally rewarded for his fine performances in the Bundesliga last season, where he was the top-scoring German in the league. Werner scored his first goals for the senior national team and made history in the process by becoming the first player for Germany to score twice in a Confederations Cup match.
The stat
100 With the victory over Cameroon, Joachim Low became the first Germany coach in history to reach 100 wins.
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