GROUP F
Germany 3 - 1 Bulgaria
Kimmich 34’
Werner 39’
Havertz 57’
Ivanov 68’)
Thomas Quinn
Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany
Wednesday 24th June
In the end it was enough for Germany. In hindsight it was a routine, run-of-the-mill victory which sent them through to the next round.
The start was slow and tetchy as Germany found their feet and Bulgaria dug in to defend. Georgi Dermendzhiev’s side have become a salutary warning for sides of a similar stature. While Dermendzhiev will no doubt have been somewhat pleased that his men were able to limit France to a 1-0 victory in Budapest, theirs has been a campaign devoid of excitement, joy, or indeed any of the other things that most people enjoy about football.
Germany patiently played their way into the game and their reward came in the 34th minute. Some clever hold up play from Timo Werner brought Joshua Kimmich thundering towards the Bulgarian penalty area. The Bayern Munich man’s crashing drive whistled past the wonderfully named Georgi Georgiev into the bottom corner. Relief was etched on German faces. One goal was always likely to be enough against this Bulgarian side who had drawn blanks against France and Portugal.
Thoughts quickly turned to overturning the goal difference deficit and stealing second place from under Portuguese noses.
From minute 40 to 60 Germany were unplayable. Kai Havertz was constantly on the move as he buzzed around the Bulgarian defenders wreaking havoc. Werner bristled with energy while Kimmich ran the show. The two combined again for the second goal as Kimmich turned provider for the Leipzig forward. His clipped pass over the top of the defence was chested down expertly by Werner and tucked away past Georgiev.
Joachim Low looked thrilled on the sidelines as his team scythed through the Bulgarian defence at will. Toni Kroos played a sumptuous through ball to Havertz which the Leverkusen man ought to have made more of. Niklas Sule thudded a header against the crossbar from a Kimmich cross. Werner volleyed into the side netting after some clever work down the left wing from Serge Gnabry.
The third came just before the hour mark. Gnabry came deep to collect the ball from Kroos. He drove forward and sent a low fizzing shot towards goal which Georgiev couldn’t hold. The rebound fell to Havertz who tapped in to the unguarded net. As a show of intent he grabbed the ball and marched it back to the centre circle.
Dreams of double figures dissipated when Galin Ivanov’s deflected effort looped past Manuel Neuer to reduce the deficit. It was never going to be enough to make the game a contest but it stemmed German enthusiasm and the final twenty minutes were a case of both sides shaking hands on the result as it stood. It also meant that, at the very least, Bulgaria would leave the tournament with a goal to their name and gave their fans in Berlin something to cheer.
Germany progress and truthfully they have played significantly better than their third place finish suggests. It would not be at all surprising to see them go far in the competition despite the mediocre group stage results.
Man of the Match: Kimmich
Attendance: 76,452
Germany: Neuer; Klostermann, Sule, Rudiger, Schulz; Goretzka, Kimmich, Kroos; Gnabry, Werner, Havertz (4-3-3)
Bulgaria: Georgiev; S Popov, Bozhikov, Terziev, Zanev; Kostadinov, Malinov, Ivanov, I Popov, Wanderson; Marcelinho (4-5-1)