International friendlies: Slovakia shock Germany

Sport360 staff 00:16 30/05/2016
Celebration time: Slovakia in Germany.

Slovakia stunned World Cup winners Germany with an impressive 3-1 win in a rain-swept Augsburg on Sunday evening.

Mario Gomez gave the hosts the lead from the penalty spot, but Slovakia captain Marek Hamsik and Michal Duris turned the international friendly on its head before the heavens opened at half-time.

A delay to the start of the second half did not knock the Slovakians out of their stride, though, and Juraj Kucka added a third to give Germany coach Joachim Low plenty to ponder before he names his 23-man squad for Euro 2016.

Having beaten Georgia by the same scoreline on Friday, Slovakia are now on a seven-game unbeaten run heading into their final pre-Euro friendly against Northern Ireland next Saturday.

Nolito staked a strong claim for a place in Spain’s Euro 2016 squad with a brace to down Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 in Switzerland.

In a surprisingly bad-tempered friendly, Emir Spahic replied to Nolito’s quick-fire double before being dismissed for a violent outburst before the break. Pedro secured the victory with a close-range goal deep into second-half stoppage-time, reminding fans of his ability after a disappointing year with Chelsea.

Nolito should now expect to make Vicente del Bosque’s final 23, while young debutant Mikel Oyazarbal also gave the European champions’ boss food for thought with his spirited performance off the bench in St Gallen.

Elsewhere, a last-minute strike from Mehmet Topal handed Turkey victory over Montenegro as both sides rotated heavily in Antalya.

The day’s most exciting game, though, was undoubtedly played out in Turin where Ukraine overcame Romania by a 4-3 scoreline thanks to a stunning 20-minute blitz either side of halftime in which all four Ukrainian goals were scored.

Late efforts from Denis Alibec and Nicolae Stanciu offered Romania hope of a dramatic comeback but it was not to be as both sides continue their preparation for Euro 2016 in France starting in just under a fortnight’s time.

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