‘We need to talk,’ says Loew as Turkey rally to hold Germany

Cologne: Germany coach Joachim Loew bemoaned his side’s inability to hold on to a lead after they conceded a last-gasp equaliser in a thrilling 3-3 friendly draw against Turkey on Wednesday.

Stuttgart-born Kenan Karaman bundled in a late leveller against the country of his birth as Turkey fought back from behind three times to snatch a draw and leave Loew scratching his head.

“I’m disappointed and frustrated. We have had this problem for a while, and the same thing happened in other games,” the Germany coach told broadcaster RTL.

The draw was Germany’s third in three games, and the third time in a row that they have failed to win after taking the lead.

“We need to talk about what we can do better and about the mentality we need to develop,” said Loew.

With Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos and numerous Bayern Munich stars rested, Loew fielded a weakened and relatively inexperienced side in front of 300 fans in Cologne.

Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus made his international debut, while Julian Draxler captained the side in the absence of Manuel Neuer.

“We invited Turkey back into the game. It’s not easy when you’re all playing together for the first time, but there are still a few basic rules you can follow,” Draxler told RTL.

The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder led from the front, finding the net from an offside position after just seven minutes before finally breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.

Latching onto a pass from Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, the stand-in captain burst into the box and daintily scooped the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper Mert Gunok.

Turkey came out fighting after the break, however, and Ozan Tufan curled in an unstoppable equaliser from the edge of the area just five minutes into the second half.

Havertz picked up his second assist of the evening as the hosts restored their lead just before the hour mark, the Chelsea midfielder linking up with Emre Can to set up debutant Neuhaus.

Yet Neuhaus’ dream debut turned sour minutes later, as he was dispossessed in front of goal by Efecan Karaca, who promptly levelled the scores again from close range. With no VAR, German protests that Neuhaus had been fouled fell on deaf ears.

With nine minutes to go, Luca Waldschmidt thought he had sealed victory when he sent a fizzing shot through Munok’s fingers to net his first international goal.

Yet Karaman’s late strike leaves Germany still searching for a first win in 2020 ahead of upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Ukraine and Switzerland.

Agence France-Presse