Azerbaijan versus Germany – European Championship Qualification: Second half review
After dominating the first half in terms of goal scoring, Germany resumed the second half with a two goal lead at their side. Alternatively, Azerbaijan playing on their home turf also entered the second half of play with a rejuvenated look about them. Berti Vogts’ team were on the back foot right away in the second half as Lukas Podolski was sent clean through on goal by Phillip Lahm.
The German captain measured a precise through ball for Podolski but the striker’s heavy first touch was enough for the Azerbaijani goal keeper to come out of his six yard box and gather the ball. In the 63rd minute, Nadirov almost pulled a goal back for Azerbaijan as Howedes’ mistake allowed the striker to sneak in behind the German defence. However the forward’s goal was eventually disallowed as he was signalled offside by the linesman on the far side.
In the 68th minute, Howedes rose above everyone else inside the Azerbaijani penalty area to connect with Mesut Ozil’s corner kick. The Borussia Dortmund defender just missed the target by a couple of feet with his header as the score line remained at two nil to Germany. In the 74th minute, Mesut Ozil was presented with a golden opportunity to add to Germany’s two goal lead but the young trequartista was unable to apply the finishing touch on Lukas Podolski’s return pass.
In the 76th minute, Joachim Lowe decided to make the first change of the match for Germany as Podolski made way for Schuerrle. Shortly afterwards, Mesut Ozil was replaced by Mario Goetze as Germany decided to adopt a defensive approach. In the 89th minute, Azerbaijan scored their first goal of the encounter as Huseynov pounced on a loose ball inside the German penalty area. The move came about thanks to some wayward defending from Germany coupled with a goalkeeping howler from Manuel Neuer.
At first Philip Lahm failed to clear the ball away as Chertoganov cross the ball in. Neuer decided to come out and take command of the situation but he mishandled the ball and Huseynov made no mistake as he sneaked in on the near post with a vital touch. Buoyant with their goal, Azerbaijan pushed forward to score once again but this time they were caught out on the counter attack by Germany as Schuerrle capitalized on a rebound inside the Azerbaijan penalty area. Thus as a result the match finally came to a conclusion with the score line at 1-3 in favour of the German national team.