BASEL, Switzerland, March 27 (Reuters) – Germany’s Florian Wirtz scored two goals, including an 86th-minute winner, and set up two more as his team came twice from a goal down to beat hosts Switzerland 4-3 in a friendly on Friday as both sides continued their preparations for the World Cup in June.
The 22-year-old Wirtz put the visitors 3-2 up just past the hour with a stunning 18-metre curled effort and bagged the winner with another spectacular strike from the edge of the box in an entertaining game.
In a pulsating first half, the hosts scored against the run of play through Dan Ndoyein the 17th minute following a defensive error by Nico Schlotterbeck before Germany’s Jonathan Tah levelled with a header.
The Swiss, who are in World Cup Group B with Qatar, co-hosts Canada and a playoff spot winner, scored with their next effort on goal in the 41st minute when Breel Embolo caught the German defence napping but the visitors levelled again on the stroke of halftime courtesy of Serge Gnabry’s chip from a superb Wirtz assist.
Wirtz, who has been struggling for form in his first season at Liverpool, then took matters into his own hands, curling a stunning shot from the edge of the box into the top corner just past the hour.
This time it was the hosts’ turn to level in the 82nd minute when Joel Monteiro beat two defenders and drilled home before Wirtz silenced the home crowd with anotxerlandther curled effort that left keeper Gregor Kobel frozen on the spot.
Germany have been drawn in World Cup Group E with Ecuador, Curacao and Ivory Coast.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
