13 November,2021 08:48 AM IST | Wolfsburg | AFP
Germany’s Thomas Mueller during their FIFA World Cup qualifier. Pic/Getty Images
Germany reaped its eighth win after cruising Liechtenstein 9-0 at the FIFA World Cup qualifying round in Group J at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg.
Underdog Liechtenstein caught the worst possible start against already qualified Germany as Jens Hofer fouled Leon Goretzka inside the box to cause a penalty with nine minutes gone. Ilkay Gundogan stepped up and made no mistake to break the deadlock.
Germany pressed and benefitted on its numerical advantage on Thursday evening as Liechtenstein's Daniel Kaufmann cleared Christian Gunter's cutback pass into the own goal on 20 minutes. The hosts made it three moments later as Leroy Sane made use of a through ball from Goretzka before unleashing a well-placed shot into the far post corner.
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Although Hansi Flick's men had confirmed their slot at Qatar 2022, they pressed forward and made it 4-0 on the scoreboards in the 23rd minute when Marco Reus collected a loose ball before tapping home into the empty goal.
Liechtenstein couldn't put up resistance, whereas the relentless Germans increased the pressure after the restart as Sane wrapped up his brace in the 48th by courtesy of Reus's good build-up work, Xinhua reports. The hosts still were not done with the scoring and remained on the front foot as Liechtenstein couldn't clear a corner allowing Thomas Muller to tap home a rebound.
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