Germany maintain winning run as Portugal, Belgium claim warm-up victories
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BRUSSELS, June 6 : Germany earned a 2-1 victory over World Cup co-hosts United States in their final warm-up match in Chicago on Saturday, while there were also victories for Portugal and Belgium as teams fine-tune ahead of the tournament’s kickoff next week.
It was the ninth win in a row for four-time world champions Germany, who are looking to restore their dented international reputation following shock first-round exits at the 2018 and the 2022 World Cups.
The Germans, who suffered a blow when teenager Lennart Karl was ruled out of the World Cup with a muscle injury in training on Friday, took the co-hosts by surprise with a strong start.
Kai Havertz found far too much space in the box and headed in Joshua Kimmich’s free kick to give them a second-minute lead.
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The Americans gradually recovered as the visitors took their foot off the gas, and snatched a stunning equaliser when Antonee Robinson thundered in a volley in the 37th minute after defender Jonathan Tah had headed a corner away.
The tables were turned after the break with Germany taking control and Leroy Sane, who came into the starting lineup for the injured Karl, rifled in from 12 metres to put Germany back into the lead in the 57th.
The game lost some pace in the second half with both teams making a number of substitutions.
Portugal defeated Chile in an ill-tempered clash in Oeiras where both teams finished with 10 men as Rafael Leao and Ivan Roman received their marching orders late in the first half following a brawl.
Goncalo Guedes gave the home side the lead before Bruno Fernandes added a second from outside the box. Lucas Cepeda scored a late consolation for Chile.
Cristiano Ronaldo started for Portugal to extend his world record number of men’s international appearances to 227 but was one of six players replaced at halftime.
“We were superior in the 90 minutes, we managed to control the game very well, especially having a lot of the ball in the last third of them,” Fernandes told RTP. “It is something that we have to improve and over time we have been improving.”
Striker Romelu Lukaku continued his comeback from injury for Belgium with 25 minutes off the bench as they enjoyed a 5-0 victory over 10-man Tunisia in Brussels.
Leandro Trossard, Charles De Ketelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin scored the goals as Lukaku grabbed an assist, making his second international appearance in a year having netted against Croatia on his return on Tuesday.
“We wanted a good performance in front of our fans,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. “It is a good preparation for the World Cup, we know this team can do great things.
“We are not just an attacking team, we are a team that defends with 11 (players) too.”
Source: Reuters
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