Socceroos draw 2-2 with world champions Germany in international friendly

Updated

The Socceroos built on their historic Asian Cup triumph by holding world champions Germany to a thrilling 2-2 draw in Kaiserslautern.

SCOREBOARD: AUS 2-2 GER AUS 2-2 GER in Kaiserslautern, March 26, 2015 3 Shots on target 6 8 Shots off target 14 40% Possession 60% 3 Corners 10 1 Offsides 4

Troisi 40'

Jedinak 50'

Reus 17'

Podolski 81'



An understrength Socceroos line-up looked on course for a huge upset in the international friendly after captain Mile Jedinak put them ahead 2-1 with a stunning 50th-minute free kick.

But substitute Lukas Podolski struck against a tiring Socceroos defence in the 81st minute to spare the home side's blushes at a packed Walter Fritz Stadium.

Asian Cup hero James Troisi scored for the second successive match, pulling the Socceroos back level just before half-time after Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus had opened the scoring in the 17th minute.

Jedinak took pride in the way his troops were not overawed by the Germans.

"We came here and we knew it was going to be difficult but we stuck to our game plan," he told Fox Sports.

"There were a couple of mistakes and things like that but you're going to get that and overall it's another step in the right direction and something I think we can be very proud of."

Troisi says the Socceroos can take great confidence from the result in Germany.

"It's amazing, I mean who would have thought 12 months ago that we'd more than give the world champions a run for their money," he said.

"We've come a long way and it's really fantastic to see."

Ange Postecoglou's side could have been several goals ahead had they been sharper in front of goal, with Mathew Leckie and Nathan Burns causing Joachim Loew's side plenty of headaches in attack.

Already missing first team regulars Tim Cahill and Matthew Spiranovic, Postecoglou was also missing Massimo Luongo (groin) and Trent Sainsbury (knee).

Postecoglou handed a surprise international debut to 25-year-old Brisbane Roar defender Luke DeVere, who partnered Alex Wilkinson in central defence, while Matt McKay was preferred to Tommy Oar in midfield.

The Australian coach said he was proud of his players and not just because of the result.

"It was a fantastic performance, especially when most of them only got off the plane 48 hours ago," Postecoglou said.

"We attacked them from the start, we put them on the back foot and took the game to them."

Germany fielded a typically-powerful line-up but, with an eye on next week's Euro 2016 qualifier in Georgia, left big guns including Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos on the bench.

Despite having less than two days to prepare in Germany, Postecoglou had promised his depleted side would not play it safe and so it proved as the Socceroos took the game to the World Cup winners early.

With Leckie's pace causing problems to Germany's back three and McKay and Mark Milligan pulling the strings in midfield, the Socceroos had the best early chances and should have scored first.

Leckie wasted a great one-on-one opportunity in the ninth minute before Burns missed a free header from a superb McKay cross five minutes later.

Germany, persisting with a new formation, looked vulnerable in the defence but the Socceroos were equally shaky at times.

The nervy DeVere and Jedinak coughed up possession on several occasions, while Ivan Franjic was under heavy pressure at right back and it was down the left side the Germans made the opening breakthrough.

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira glided through a gap and found Reus, who finished with a glancing shot that gave Mat Ryan no chance.

The goal did not force the Socceroos into a shell, with Jedinak forcing a great save out of Ron-Robert Zieler with a speculative long-range effort.

The Socceroos got the goal their first-half performance deserved five minutes before the break.

Troisi, who netted the winner in the Asian Cup final against South Korea, latched on to a Burns cross with a fine header to beat Zieler.

The game continued in end-to-end fashion after the break and the Socceroos took a surprise lead through their skipper.

Troisi was fouled on the edge of the penalty box and Jedinak, from an awkward angle, brilliantly curled his free kick past Zieler on the near post.

Germany started to mount heavy pressure on the Socceroos goal, with Ryan forced into several great stops and Wilkinson producing some brilliant scrambling defence.

Oar, Aaron Mooy, Wright, Oliver Bozanic and Tomi Juric all came off the bench as Germany finished the stronger side, salvaging a draw when substitutes Andrew Schurrle and Podolski combined for the equaliser against some lacklustre defending.

In other international matches, a second half goal gave Scotland a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in Glasgow, while Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat-trick - including two goals in the last seven minutes - as Denmark came from behind to beat the United States 3-2.

AAP/ABC

Topics: socceroos, soccer, sport

First posted