World champion Germany survived a late scare to see off Saudi Arabia 2-1 Friday and claim a first victory this year, putting a five-game winless run behind them as they finalised their World Cup preparation.
There were also wins for Iran, Croatia and Switzerland, while Poland were held to a 2-2 draw by Chile.
Germany looked to be heading for a comfortable win as they sought to put their worst run of form for 30 years behind them as Timo Werner opened the scoring and Omar Hawsawi’s own goal doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime.
Yet Saudi Arabia, who will also be in Russia, fought back, looking particularly dangerous on the counter.
They grabbed a lifeline as Taisir Al-Jassim smashed in the rebound after a Mohammad Al-Sahlawi penalty was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen five minutes from fulltime.
Timo Werner has now scored eight goals in 14 games for the senior German national team.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 8, 2018
The shirt fits. 9️⃣ pic.twitter.com/VORkoItjF2
Al-Sahlawi then had strong claims for a second spot kick waved away in stoppage time as he went down under a challenge from Mats Hummels as Germany hung on to claim a morale-boosting victory.
There was frustration for Germany coach Joachim Low, as Ilkay Gundogan’s every touch was booed for the second game in a row. German fans are angry over a picture he took with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan last month, addressing him in a message as "my president".
The coach went on to voice his discontent at his side’s performance, but was adamant they will ready when they face Mexico in their opening World Cup game next Sunday.
Croatia battled back from an Ismaila Sarr opener to defeat Senegal 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric and Switzerland continued their impressive form with a 2-0 win over Japan.
Iran scored a late winner to defeat Lithuania 1-0, while Poland blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Chile, who did not qualify for Russia.
?????#Croatia comeback against @FootballSenegal before the departure to the @FIFAWorldCup in Russia! Congratulations!#BeProud #Family #WorldCup #CROSEN #Vatreni? pic.twitter.com/fkmETbf3JA
— HNS | CFF (@HNS_CFF) June 8, 2018
RESULTS
Iran 1 (Ansarifard 88) Lithuania 0
Croatia 2 (Perisic 63, Kramaric 78) Senegal 1 (Sarr 48)
Switzerland 2 (Rodriguez 42-P, Seferovic 82) Japan 0
Germany 2 (Werner 8, Hawsawi 43-og) Saudi Arabia 1 (Al Jassim 84)
Poland 2 (Lewandowski 20, Zielinski 34) Chile 2 (Valdes 38, Albornoz 56)
