Germany marked their 1,000th international match by snatching a dramatic 3-3 draw with a last-gasp penalty against Ukraine in a charity game in Bremen on Monday.
Germany took the lead in the sixth minute through a deflection from Niclas Füllkrug, who scored his seventh goal in seven games. Ukraine seized on a loose ball in midfield to break on a counterattack as Viktor Tsyhankov equalised in the 19th minute.
Four minutes later a Mykhailo Mudryk shot bounced off Antonio Rüdiger in the six-yard box for an own goal to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
Hansi Flick’s side were dealt another blow early in the second half after a defensive error allowed Tsyhankov to score a second goal to hand Ukraine a 3-1 advantage.
Germany pulled one back seven minutes from time when Kai Havertz slotted home. Joshua Kimmich converted a penalty in injury time to deny Ukraine their first win against Germany.
“We started the game quite well, it felt relatively good. Then we conceded two silly goals,” Kimmich said. “Fortunately, we were rewarded at the end with two goals.”
Flick said: “We did a lot of things well in possession and created goalscoring chances, but unfortunately we didn’t finish them as we wanted.
“I feel sorry for the team because they really tried to turn the game around. The important thing is that we show mentality. It was enough to make it 3-3 but we still have to address the things we have to do better.”
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As European Championship hosts, Germany are not taking part in the qualifying campaign and will next play friendlies against Poland on Friday and Colombia four days later. Ukraine will face North Macedonia on Friday and Malta three days later in their Group C qualifiers for Euro 2024.
