Switzerland 1-1 Germany: Widmer thwarts visitors

Three days after conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Spain, Germany were denied UEFA Nations League Group A4 victory again by Switzerland's Silvan Widmer.

Match in brief

Germany’s wait for a first UEFA Nations League win goes on after they were pegged back by a hard-working Switzerland side.

Ilkay Gündoğan’s precise finish gave the visitors an early lead, but they failed to build on it, although Timo Werner should have done better with one chance. At the other end, Haris Seferović hit the outside of the post, while Bernd Leno denied Arsenal team-mate Granit Xhaka more than once. The pick of the German goalkeeper's saves was from a late free-kick by the Switzerland skipper, but by then he had already been beaten when Widmer swept home. Germany are now third, two points behind leaders Spain but one ahead of Switzerland.

Reporters' views

Germany celebrate taking the leadGetty Images

James Thorogood, Switzerland reporter: Switzerland have forged a real identity in Petkovic’s 3-4-3 set-up, but absentees, defensive frailties and a lack of firepower are still playing a decisive role. Against a Germany side shorn of star players and running on fumes, the Nati may not get a better chance to upset the odds, but a precious point is one of many positives they can take from the clash in Basel. Their Group A4 prospects no longer look as bleak.

Steffen Potter, Germany reporter: Germany have played five games in this competition now and are still looking for their first win. Joachim Löw used the opportunity of the latest two games against Spain and Switzerland to test his side with a back-three formation. It's hard to judge the Germany team just looking at these two games and missing a few key players, but tonight a back four would probably have suited them better against this Swiss side.

Reaction

Silvan Widmer, Switzerland goalscorer: "Scoring my first goal against Germany is special, especially in my home stadium. I'm delighted and it's fair to say this won't be an evening I'm going to forget any time soon."

Granit Xhaka, Switzerland captain: "I think we had a good game against Ukraine as well, especially in the first half. Today, in my opinion we were the better team. We've got a tough group, but let's hope for the best in the next three matches."

Joachim Löw, Germany coach: "Having led twice [against Spain and Switzerland] and not won is annoying. We will attack again in the October games. Clearly, not all our players are at full fitness. It's currently a problem of ours that we are not capable of deciding games in our favour. We had two, three great chances in the first half and if we take them, Switzerland surely will not get back into the game."

Julian Draxler, Germany midfielder: "It was not our best game today, especially after the break. We lost balls too easily. It was similar to the game against Spain: we performed worse the longer the game lasted. We are not 100% pleased with the way we are playing. Playing the full 90 minutes twice was very important for me personally, even though I was lacking strength in the end."

Switzerland equalise through Silvan WidmerAFP via Getty Images

Key stats

• Germany have scored the first goal in each of their last six competitive away games.
• Twenty-one of the last 27 goals Germany have conceded have been in the second half, including 11 in the final ten minutes.
• Switzerland have won 14 of their last 17 competitive home games, drawing the other three.
• Switzerland have scored 22 goals in their last seven competitive home matches.
• Switzerland have only conceded five goals in their last seven games.
• Switzerland have conceded one goal or less in 22 of their last 28 games.

Line-ups

Switzerland: Sommer; Widmer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodríguez (Zuber 64), Benito; Embolo (Vargas 72), Sow (Aebischer 80), Xhaka, Steffen; Seferović

Germany: Leno; Ginter, Süle (Tah 62), Rüdiger; Kehrer, Gündoğan, Kroos, Gosens (Emre Can 78); Sané (Brandt 46), Draxler, Werner

Next up

Group A4 continues next month, with Spain vs Switzerland and Ukraine vs Germany on Saturday 10 October.