Goretzka secures a draw

Thanks to Leon Goretzka, the German national team kicked off 2019 with a 1-1 draw against Serbia on Wednesday evening. The FC Bayern midfielder came on as a substitute in the 56th minute in Wolfsburg and scored a well-deserved equalizer just 13 minutes later. Along with Manuel Neuer, who was substituted in the 46th minute, the German record champions' Niklas Süle and Joshua Kimmich were in the starting line-up. Serge Gnabry didn't make the squad despite recovering from a cold.

The Germans attacked with a lot of tempo right from the start but went behind following Serbia's first shot on target courtesy of Frankfurt's Luka Jovic in the 12th minute. Neuer had no chance with the header from a short distance. Joachim Löw's team continued to play attacking football, but it took until the 69th minute to earn their just reward through Goretzka's effort from 15 metres out. Due to a multitude of chances, a win would have been a more deserved result. Goretzka & co. kick off their EURO 2020 qualifying campaign this Sunday at 8.45 pm CET with a classic away to their old rivals the Netherlands.