MAINZ, Germany, May 31 (Reuters) – Forward Deniz Undav scored twice and set up another goalas Germany eased past Finland 4-0 in a friendly international on Sunday, two days before the four-time champions depart for the World Cup.
Undav, who will compete with Kai Havertz for a starting spot at the World Cup,headed in for a 34th-minute lead before setting up Florian Wirtz for their second goal three minutes after the restart. He added another from a Lennart Karl pinpoint pass in the 57th and Jamal Musiala rifled in their fourth goal six minutes later.
Germany have set their sights on the World Cup title as they look to redeem themselves following their shock first-round exits in the past two editions in 2018 and 2022.
The Germans, who have one last warm-up match against joint hosts the United States on Saturday, five days before the tournament starts, will leave from Frankfurt on Tuesday.
“That’s for the coach to decide,” Undav said when asked whether his performance was enough to nail down the starting spot.
“I am here to do my job and I did it well today,” Undav said, adding that the World Cup would be a success for Germany only with a title win. “If we win it,then it will be a success.”
The hosts were in complete control from the start with teenager Karl, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise this season with Bayern Munich, adding pace to their game and Undav twice being denied by Finnish keeper Lukas Hradecky. Finland have not qualified for the World Cup.
It was third time lucky for Undav in the 34th when he headed in at the far post for the lead. The VfB Stuttgart forward then turned provider four minutes after the restart, pressing high and intercepting the ball before sliding it to Wirtz for a tap-in.
Karl, who was a constant threat, hit the postin the 55th but then delivered a perfect pass two minutes later into the run of Undav for 3-0. Musiala then found enough space to beat Hradecky with a powerful shot as the hosts kept their foot on the gas.
Germany kick off their World Cup Group E matches against Curacao on June 14 before facing Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Clare Fallon)
