In a charity game on Monday in Bremen, Germany celebrated their 1000th international match by rescuing a thrilling 3-3 draw from Ukraine with a last-second penalty.
A deflection by Niclas Fuellkrug, who scored his seventh goal in seven games, gave Germany the lead in the sixth minute.
Viktor Tsyhankov levelled in the 19th minute as Ukraine broke on a counterattack after snatching a loose ball in midfield.
Four minutes later, an own goal by Antonio Ruediger in the six-yard box gave the visitors a 2-1 lead after a Mykhailo Mudryk effort deflected off him.
Early in the second half, Tsyhankov scored again, giving Ukraine a 3-1 lead after a defensive blunder gave Hansi Flick’s team another setback.
Seven minutes before the end, Kai Havertz’s goal gave Germany the lead again. In extra time, Joshua Kimmich successfully converted a penalty to deny Ukraine its first victory against Germany.
“We had the game going quite well; it felt very nice. Then we gave up two absurd goals,” Kimmich stated. “Thankfully, we received two goals as compensation at the end.”
“We did a lot of things well in possession and created goal-scoring opportunities, but regrettably we didn’t finish them as we wanted,” Germany coach Flick said.
“I feel bad for the squad because they fought so hard to change the game. It’s crucial that we demonstrate mindset. The score of 3-3 was sufficient, but we still need to work on improving the areas that need improvement.
Germany, which is hosting the European Championship, is not competing in the qualifying round and will instead play friendlies against Poland on Friday and Colombia four days later.
In their Group C qualifiers for Euro 2024, North Macedonia and Malta will play each other on Friday and three days later, respectively.
