Germany comeback foiled by Cameroon

Germany had to content themselves with a 2-2 draw against Cameroon in Monchengladbach in their penultimate warm-up game before the FIFA World Cup gets under way.

Playing without the injured Manuel Neuer, Marcel Schmelzer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm – but with Erik Durm becoming the 72nd debutant under Joachim Löw – the hosts fell behind to a Samuel Eto'o goal close to the hour mark. Unflustered, they forced their way into a winning position thanks to second-half strikes from Thomas Müller and André Schürrle, but it was Eric Choupo-Moting who had the final say with 12 minutes remaining.

Germany flew out of the blocks in front of 40,000 spectators and created the first chance after a matter of seconds, only for Mesut Özil to steer his effort narrowly wide from ten metres out. With 11 minutes gone, Cameroon keeper Charles Itandje then had to get down quickly to force a Mario Götze effort onto a post.

Germany tried to find success from long balls to Marco Reus or Götze and the plan initially seemed to be working, yet the quality soon ebbed out of the game. Indeed, it took until close to the break for the next real opportunity, with Roman Weidenfeller reacting well to keep out Benjamin Moukandjo.

Weidenfeller was on hand again in the 62nd minute to parry away a low Eto'o strike, but the ball was delivered back in from the left-hand side by Choupo-Moting and the Chelsea FC forward got to it ahead of Mats Hummels to put Cameroon in front.

The home side were not trailing for long, however. Just four minutes later, Jérôme Boateng sent in a dangerous cross from the right and Müller powered in an unstoppable header to level the scores. And just five minutes after that, Löw's charges continued their recovery to take the lead, Lukas Podolski bursting down the left and squaring to fellow substitute Schürrle, who slotted in from close range.

Cameroon were not done yet, and 1. FSV Mainz 05 forward Choupo-Moting added the final twist, hitting a low strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the area to ensure a draw that his side deserved. Löw will nonetheless take encouragement from some positive passages of play, before he announces his final 23-man squad for the World Cup on Monday. Germany take on Armenia in their final preparation match in Mainz on Friday.