© Imago
Joshua Kimmich would surely have imagined his big anniversary in a Germany jersey turning out differently. In his 100th appearance for his country, the 30-year-old lost 2-1 (0-0) to Portugal in the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League on Wednesday evening. Instead of the final in Munich, national coach Julian Nagelsmann's side will now play in the third-place play-off in Stuttgart on Sunday. In Portugal's João Palhinha, however, there will be at least one Bayern player in the final.
Instead of Germany, João Palhinha will now play for the UEFA Nations League trophy in Sunday's final. | © Imago
"100 caps for Germany is something very special for me," said Kimmich after the final whistle - and yet: "It hurts a lot, but the defeat was also deserved. We were far from playing the way we're capable of today. If we had played at our limit, we would have won."
Kimmich sets up the opener for Germany
Things initially went well for the German side, with captain Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Aleksandar Pavlović and Leroy Sané all starting and Serge Gnabry (60 minutes) coming off the bench on the hour mark. After a hard-fought first half, a stroke of genius from Kimmich right after the break gave the home side the lead at Munich's Allianz Arena. In the 48th minute, the defensive all-rounder delicately chipped the ball through to Florian Wirtz, who guided the dream pass into the net with his head to make it 1-0.
In addition to Joshua Kimmich (no. 6), Leon Goretzka (8), Leroy Sané (19) and Aleksandar Pavlović (25) were also in Germany's starting XI. | © Imago
However, Portugal came back and turned the game around with goals from Francisco Conceição (58') and Cristiano Ronaldo (68'). The home side were unable to come up with a reaction and were beaten by Portugal in a competitive match for the first time in 25 years.
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