Messi-less Argentina hold Germany to 2-2 draw

Argentina came back from two goals down in the second-half for a 2-2 draw against Germany in an international friendly.

Argentina came back from two goals down in the second-half for a 2-2 draw against Germany in an international friendly in Dortmund on Wednesday. Germany, who gave debut to as many as four players, took the lead inside the first 15 minutes itself and doubling it seven minutes later.

Sergey Gnabry rushed past Argentine defence to slot home an early goal, a week after recording four goals against Tottemham Hostpur in a Champions League fixture. And then he assisted, again using his pace, to set up Kai Havertz for a simple tap in.

However, they blew up their 2-0 lead when the game recommenced after the break. Lucas Alario, who replaced Paulo Dybala in the 62nd minute, pulled one back four minutes later. With five minutes to go, Alario was in the thick of action again as he assisted Lucas Ocampos for the equaliser.

“We matured during the game,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after the match. “We made two or three mistakes in the first half, but got a grip in the second half, were more patient and we take a lot of positives for the future. I was impressed with the attitude, we didn’t give up when we went 2-0 down.”

Germany manager Joachim Loew said, “We wanted to be in the game right from the off, but unfortunately we couldn’t hold on for 90 minutes.”