#GERARG 2-2 – Havertz and Alario score, Amiri makes debut

From a Leverkusen point of view, Germany's friendly against Argentina in Dortmund on Wednesday 9 October was a complete success. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. Kai Havertz made it 2-0 (22'), Lucas Alario scored the first for Argentina (66') and provided the assist for the equaliser at 2-2 (85'). And Nadiem Amiri came on in the second half to make his senior debut for Germany.

The Germany coach had to make a number of changes due to injury before the game. That included Jonathan Tah not being available. The Werkself central defender missed out due to a bout of flu that caused him to leave the national squad early on Wednesday. That means Tah will also be unavailable for the European qualifier against Estonia in Tallinn on Sunday 13 October.

Havertz alongside Kimmich

Havertz was in the starting eleven for his sixth full international cap. Playing in central midfield alongside the captain Joshua Kimmich, he was behind the three strikers serge Gnabry, Luca Waldschmidt and Julian Brandt. Amiri started on the bench as did Alario.

Germany were very aggressive from the start and solid in the tackle. That led to the creation of a number of dangerous counter-attacks. That paid off after a quarter of an hour. Lukas Klostermann put Gnabry through in the box and he was able to beat Agustin Marchesin from close range to open the scoring. Seven minutes later, Havertz rounded off a turnover by the team coached by Joachim Löw. Klostermann carried the ball down the right flank before passing to Gnabry whose cross was met by Havertz seven yards out with his left foot and guided into the net to make it 2-0 – the first goal for the Leverkusen player in his sixth outing for the national team.

Can effort blocked

As Marcel Halstenberg (31’) and Rodrigo De Paul (33’), for the other side, only hit the woodwork, Germany went into half-time with a deserved 2-0 lead. The hosts continued the second half where they had left off after 45 minutes. There was good work against the ball and when possession was gained the action moved quickly towards the goal of the South American side. First, Waldschmidt hit the side netting (47') and a move via Brandt and Havertz ended with Emre Can who had his shot blocked by an Argentinian defender (55').

Alario leads fight back

Alario came off the bench on 62 minutes. The striker was brought on by coach Lionel Scaloni in place of Paolo Dybala of Juventus. The turning point for the Argentinians. The day after his 29th birthday, the Werkself number 13 was straight into action. A corner from Acuna and Alario scored with an impressive header to make it 2-1 (66').

Amiri for Brandt

Amiri was already on the touchline at this point. He came on seconds later in place of Brandt after the goal making it 2-1. However, it was Alario who was centre stage again. The Bayer 04 forward had three shots in the penalty area (78',79' and 82') but was unable to beat Marc-André ter Stegen a second time. With five minutes to play, Alario did play a crucial part in the equaliser to make it 2-2. He dribbled into the box to set up Lucas Ocampos with his shot deflecting off Can into his own net.

The player of the final 30 minutes had every reason to smile after the final whistle. He swapped his shirt with Havertz who was replaced by Sebastian Rudy on 82 minutes.

Next match on Sunday

Thanks to the draw, Germany go into the next game with mixed feelings. Jogi Löw’s team are next in action on Sunday 13 October with a European qualifier against Estonia in Tallinn (20.45 CET).