Jamal Musiala was an unplayable part of a fluent forward line that fired Germany to a resounding 5-0 win over Hungary in UEFA Nations League Group A3 in what was their first match of the post-Euro 2024 era.

Germany 5-0 Hungary
Goals: 1-0 Füllkrug 27' (assist: Musiala), 2-0 Musiala 58' (assist: Wirtz), 3-0 Wirtz 66' (assist: Musiala), 4-0 Pavlović 77' (assist: Musiala), 5-0 Havertz (pen. 81')

The tie in Dusseldorf might have been billed as the opening of a new chapter following the international retirements of Ilkay Gündoğan, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos, but Julian Nagelsmann's experienced side wasted no time before taking control of the affair. The first opportunity for the hosts came from the unlikely source of Jonathan Tah from a corner, but as Germany combined forward with intent, a good chance fell to the familiar feet of former Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Füllkrug - who was denied when one-on-one with RB Leipzig's Péter Gulácsi. A devastating move then sent Germany in front as Florian Wirtz clipped a cross in from the left that David Raum immediately knocked down to Jamal Musiala, who cleverly extended the ball for Füllkrug to tap in. Germany gained confidence from the lead and Kai Havertz rattled the crossbar with a header before sweeping a drive wide at the end of a dominant first half. 

Hungary showed after the restart that they do not have a strong recent record against Germany for nothing, pushing forward with Robert Andrich putting in a superb sliding block to stop Bendeguz Bolla pouncing from close range. The visitors' ambition gave Germany further space to exploit though, with Musiala driving forward and finishing a snappy break single-handedly to double the lead. Julian Nagelsmann's side were hungry for more, and having played the pass for Musiala's goal, Florian Wirtz played a neat one-two with the FC Bayern Munich playmaker before sweeping home a third from just outside the box. Substitute Aleksandar Pavlović then struck following another deft Musiala touch before Kai Havertz stepped up to grab a deserved goal from the penalty spot after being felled in the area - and Major Tom, the goal music that sent Germany into euphoria during Euro 2024, was heard for a fifth time. 

Watch: The best of Jamal Musiala

Match stats

• Musiala had more than one direct goal involvement in a Germany match for the first time on his 35th appearance.
• Pavlović's first goal for Germany was just his third in senior football.
• Füllkrug scored his 14th goal for Germany in his 22nd appearance.
• Kimmich has moonlighted as Germany captain in eight of his previous 91 Germany appearances.
• Nagelsmann has now won eight of his first 14 games as Germany head coach (D3, L3).
• Germany took their second win with a clean sheet over Hungary within three months after a 2-0 victory at Euro 2024.

Teams

Germany: Ter Stegen - Kimmich (c), Tah, Schlotterbeck (Koch 69'), Raum (Henrichs 69') - Andrich (Stiller 82'), Groß (Pavlović 60') - Musiala, Havertz, Wirtz - Füllkrug (Beier 60')
Unused subs: Baumann, Nübel, Anton, Führich, Undav, Mittelstädt, Can
Out: -
Not included: Gündoğan (retired), Kroos (retired), Müller (retired), Neuer (retired), Rüdiger (rested), Sané (match fitness)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann 

Hungary: Gulácsi - Balogh, Orbán, M. Dárdai - Négo (Bolla 46'), Schäfer, Á. Nagy (Nikitscher 82'), Kerkez (Z. Nagy 66') - Szoboszlai (c), Sallai (Csoboth 75') - Varga (Ádám 66')
Unused subs: Dibusz, Tóth, Yaakobishvili, Gergényi, Kata, Horváth, Botka
Out: -
Not included: Fiola, Kleinheisler, Lang, Styles, A. Szalai
Coach: Marco Rossi

As it happened!

5 - 0

(1 - 0)

Germany

FINAL

Hungary

UEFA European Championship
Nations League, Group A3 Nations League, Group A3 Merkur Spielarena, Düsseldorf

Full time: Germany 5-0 Hungary

That’s quite the statement result from Germany to usher in a new era under Nagelsmann. Musiala was the standout player, scoring once and providing three assists before Havertz put the icing on the cake with a late penalty. A fantastic performance from Germany.

© Imago Images

Full-time

86'

Winding down

Hungary haven't given up but this game has long since been decided. Germany's players are happy to conserve their energy and pass the ball among themselves in midfield.

83'

Stiller debut

Fresh from receiving his first call-up to the senior squad, VfB Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller now makes his debut for Germany.

82'

Substitution

Angelo Stiller

Robert Andrich

82'

Five-star Germany

Havertz is tripped inside the box but dusts himself off to take the ensuing spot-kick, sending Gulácsi the wrong way and coolly sliding the ball to the goalkeeper's left.

81'

Kai Havertz

GOAL!

5:0

79'

Hungary go close!

Szoboszlai draw a host of Germany defenders towards him before releasing Csoboth into space. He tries to dink it towards the far post but Ter Stegen makes a brilliant save to preserve his clean sheet!

77'

Pavlović with his first Germany goal!

Another goal, another assist for Musiala! The Bayern man squeezes a pass through to club-mate Pavlović, who takes a touch before poking home from close range!

77'

Aleksandar Pavlović

GOAL!

4:0

72'

Crossbar again!

Kimmich's powerful shot is pawed away by Gulácsi, but only as far as Havertz, lurking around 12 yards from goal. He instantly smacks the rebound towards the target but his effort crashes off the crossbar. That's the second time he's hit the woodwork in this game!

70'

Substitution

Benjamin Henrichs

David Raum

70'

Substitution

Robin Koch

Nico Schlotterbeck

69'

As it stands

Germany are currently top of Group A3, ahead of the Netherlands on goal difference. The Dutch are currently leading Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1.

67'

Beautiful goal!

Musiala is involved again - he's had a hand in all three goals so far - threading a pass through to Wirtz to lash in a shot at the near post from just inside the area.

66'

Florian Wirtz

GOAL!

3:0

Magic Musiala

After scoring three times at EURO 2024, that's now six goals in 35 senior caps for Musiala.

© Imago Images

61'

Over from Andrich

Pavlović, who's only been on the pitch a couple of seconds, is straight into the thick of the action and tees up Andrich on the edge of the box. His shot sails well over though.

60'

Substitution

Maximilian Beier

Niclas Füllkrug

60'

Substitution

Aleksandar Pavlović

Pascal Groß

59'

Musiala makes it 2-0!

Germany break following the Hungary corner, with Wirtz sliding the ball forward for Musiala to chase. He scurries into the Hungary half, gets the better of two defenders and calmly slots in from close range.

58'

Jamal Musiala

GOAL!

2:0

57'

Andrich to the rescue!

And another chance! Half-time substitute Bolla nips into the box and is about to shoot with just Ter Stegen to beat, but Andrich recovers brilliantly to block for a corner!

55'

Havertz again!

Germany go up to the other end of the pitch almost immediately, with Havertz sprinting into space on the right. He manages to shoot but Dardai slides in to block!

54'

Szoboszlai in space

The former Leipzig attacker is given space to run into the first time in this game, charging forward down the right and then squaring it to Sallai, on the lef-thand corner of the box. The Freiburg man tries to cut inside and fashion space for a shot, but Germany get back quickly and crowd him out before he can shoot.

50'

Hungary on top

The visitors have started well in this half and are forcing Germany back into their own half. They haven't got anywhere near Ter Stegen's goal yet though.

46'

Here we go again!

The referee gets the second half up and running.

Kick-off!

1:18

Watch: The best of Füllkrug in the Bundesliga

Take a trip down (recent) memory lane with some of the West Ham United forward's best moments in the Bundesliga.

Half-time: Germany 1-0 Hungary

So far so good from Germany in Düsseldorf. They hold a narrow lead at the break and have played well against a tricky Hungary side.

© Imago Images

Half-time

45'

Havertz must score!

A sensational pass from Musiala, threading the ball forward 40 yards, bypassing three or four defenders to send Havertz into the box on the right. He cuts inside onto his preferred left foot and suddenly has the goal at his mercy, 10 yards out. You'd bet your house on him to score from there, with just the goalkeeper to beat, but sends his effort wide of the far post. That should have been 2-0!

43'

Lovely from Havertz

The former Leverkusen attacker brings down a long ball forward beautifully, without even breaking his stride, before flicking it to Wirtz. The Leverkusen playmaker tries to lay the ball back to him first time for a shot on the edge of the area, but he under-hits his pass and a defender intercepts.

39'

Not over yet

Hungary may be behind but they're by no means out of this contest. They're getting forward at pace, with Sallai and Szoboszlai both looking lively and forcing Germany on to the back foot.

Füllkrug on fire

That's now 14 goals in 22 senior Germany appearances for the former Dortmund and Bremen forward, who thanks Musiala for the assist.

© Imago Images

33'

Crossbar!

Just moments after Füllkrug has a goal-bound shot blocked, Havertz has Germany's next opportunity. Raum lifts a cross from the left to the back post for Havertz, whose header hits the underside of the crossbar and bounces down - but not over the line - before being hooked clear.

31'

Chance for Sallai!

A cross is fizzed in from the left at a nice height for Sallai. He takes it left-footed on the volley but doesn't make a clean connection and skews the ball well off target.

27'

Germany lead!

Lovely stuff from Germany and inevitably Wirtz is involved, skipping past his marker on the right and lofting a pass to the back post. Raum volleys into back to Musiala, who squares it to the unmarked Füllkrug to tap over the line.

27'

Niclas Füllkrug

GOAL!

1:0

25'

Safe hands

A first opportunity for Ter Stegen to show what he can do as Szoboszlai floats a ball into the Germany box from the left. There's a crowd of players in front of him, but the Barcelona goalkeeper and new Germany No.1 commands his area to pluck the ball out of the sky and snuff out any danger.

20'

Huge chance for Füllkrug!

Space opens up on the break for Germany and Wirtz does brilliantly to keep the ball and find Musiala. He draws the last defender towards him before slotting it into the path of Füllkrug on the right. The striker side-foots it first time. aiming for the far corner, but Gulácsi sticks out a foot and makes a fine save. Best chance of the game so far!

19'

Still settling

Neither side has been able to properly impose themselves on the game yet. Germany have seen slightly more of the ball but possession is switching sides frequently in a packed midfield.

New era

Germany's first starting line-up without Neuer, Müller, Kroos and Gündoğan.

© Imago Images

14'

Kerkez has a go

A little pocket of space opens up for Hungary just outside the Germany penalty area, left of centre. Kerkez doesn't hesitate to let fly with an effort from 20 yards that whistles over.

12'

Sallai almost in

A long ball forward from the back evades Germany's defence, leaving Freiburg's Sallai with a clear run at goal. He leaps to try and bring the ball down but can't quite reach it.

8'

Off the line!

Groß floats a corner from the right into the box and finds the head of Tah, who heads it back across goal towards the top corner. The ball looks like it's going in, but Szoboszlai is well placed to head it off the line!

6'

One-touch stuff

Hungary are pressing about halfway into Germany's half, trying to force a mistake. Nagelsmann appears to have anticipated this, as his players are constantly on the move, creating angles for one-touch passing to break through the press. It's working well so far, even if the hosts are yet to create anything in the final third.

3'

First sign of danger!

Raum's attempted clearance on the left goes straight to Szoboszlai, who darts forward into the box and gets to the byline. He crosses into the middle, but Germany are just about able to clear. That was a big let-off there!

1'

Peeeeeep!

And we're under way in Düsseldorf!

Kick-off!

Out on the pitch

The players now on the playing field, ready for the national anthems.

1:29

Watch: David Raum's best goals and assists

Meanwhile, David Raum has won the battle with VfB Stuttgart's Maximilian Mittelstädt for the left-back berth. Here's a look at what the RB Leipzig man brings to the table.

1:14

Watch: The best of Robert Andrich in the Bundesliga

There was also a question of who would start in midfield following the departures of Kroos and Gündoğan. Now we have our answer: Leverkusen's Andrich will be partnered by Dortmund's Pascal Groß.

Shake up in attack

While Kai Havertz led the line as the sole striker at EURO 2024, Nagelsmann has opted to shift the Arsenal attacker back into midfield in a playmaker role alongside Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. That has freed up space for former Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Füllkrug to come in up top.

© Imago Images

Germany starting XI

Ter Stegen - Kimmich (c), Tah, Schlotterbeck, Raum - Andrich, Groß - Musiala, Havertz, Wirtz - Füllkrug

Germany subs

Baumann, Nübel, Koch, Anton, Führich, Undav, Beier, Pavlović, Mittelstädt, Stiller, Henrichs, Can

Hungary starting XI

Gulácsi - Balogh, Orbán, M. Dárdai - Négo, Schäfer, Á. Nagy, Kerkez - Szoboszlai (c), Sallai - Varga

Hungary subs

Dibusz, Tóth, Yaakobishvili, Gergényi, Ádám, Bollla, Nikitscher, Kata, Horváth, Z. Nagy, Botka, Csoboth

Nagelsmann stresses continuity

Despite a quartet of experienced German internationals retiring from international duty since Euro 2024 in Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller and İlkay Gündoğan, Julian Nagelsmann has played down talk of a big shift in personnel. The Germany coach said: "We'll have a different starting line-up, of course, but we don't have a completely new squad...we have obviously lost a lot of important and experienced players, but the group are familiar with one another. I don't think that we'll need long to adjust in the match."

© IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Wunderl

Rossi and Hungary - it all began in Frankfurt

There is a great story on how Marco Rossi began coaching in Hungary. The Italian made 15 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt in 1996/97 and became friends during that time with an Italian restauranteur, who later moved to Budapest. Rossi went to visit him and happened to chat to the Honved sporting director at his friend's restaurant, leading to a job at the club in 2012 - and in 2018 he was appointed Hungary coach.

Sell-out Sunday training

Germany are holding a public training session after facing Hungary on Sunday morning - with attention to turn to Tuesday's Nations League tie against the Netherlands. All 7000 free tickets for the session at the Paul-Janes-Stadion in Dusseldorf at 11am have been snapped up.

© IMAGO/Bahho Kara/Kirchner-Media

Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 contingent

RB Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi, Leipzig defender Willi Orbán, Hertha Berlin centre-back Márton Dárdai, midfielders András Schäfer (Union Berlin) and Pál Dárdai (Hertha), and Freiburg winger Roland Sallai are the Germany-based players in Rossi's 26-man squad.

© Christian Schroedter via www.imago-images.de/imago images/Christian Schroedter

Hungary the underdogs - Marco Rossi

"The Netherlands and Germany are the better teams on paper, while against the Bosnians we can expect an even playing field," Hungary's head coach, Marco Rossi, said when the draw was made in February. "However, paper does not always prove true on the pitch, and every match can produce surprises – both pleasant and unpleasant for us. It will be interesting to test ourselves against the Germans again, and our clashes against the Dutch will be exciting."

The format

Germany are in Group A3, alongside Hungary, the Netherlands and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each team will play each other home and away, with the group winners and runners-up going on to participate in home-and-away quarter-finals against top-two nations from the other three League A groups. The fourth-placed League A teams will be relegated to Leagues B, while a Final Four tournament will determine the eventual competition winner.

Ter Stegen doffs hat to Neuer

Marc-André ter Stegen has paid tribute to Manuel Neuer, after being named Germany's new No.1. "My aim has always been to be No. 1. I'm happy that the spell of waiting is now over," the 40-time senior international explained earlier this week. "Unfortunately, I had a goalkeeper in front of me who always managed to jump ahead. Congratulations to him on what he has achieved with the national team."

© INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

1:39

Watch: Wirtz on fire on Matchdays 1 and 2

One player who looks certain to start this game - and most of them for the next decade or so - is Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz. The Bundesliga Player of the Season for 2023/24 has started the new campaign in sensational style. Take a look for yourself...

New squad numbers...

Midfield conundrum

With Toni Kroos and İlkay Gündoğan stepping down, there are two places available in Germany's central midfield. Kimmich looks set to continue at right-back for the time being, so Robert Andrich, Pascal Groß and Aleksandar Pavlović (from left) are all vying for a place, alongside Emre Can and Angelo Stiller.

© Imago Images

New No.1

It's a new era for Germany following the international retirements of a number of big-name players. While it remains to be seen how Julian Nagelsmann will set his team up, the head coach has confirmed that former Borussia Mönchengladbach stopper Marc-André ter Stegen (l., with Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann) will start in goal as Germany's new first-choice keeper.

© Getty Images

0:47

Watch: Germany train ahead of Hungary clash

The Kimmich era begins

After İlkay Gündoğan's international retirement following the Euros, as well as the decisions of Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller to step back from Germany duty, the four-time world champions needed a new captain. Nagelsmann confirmed during the week that it will be Joshua Kimmich, who becomes the 10th Bayern player to be named Germany skipper. “Jo was the logical successor. He leads the way with his mentality," the Bundestrainer said on Monday.

© IMAGO/Markus Fischer

1:36

Watch: Germany players report for duty

Welcome!

Just a month and a half since the end of Euro 2024 in Germany, international football returns for the September break, which sees Julian Nagelsmann's side begin their UEFA Nations League campaign with a double header against Hungary and the Netherlands.

About the players

6

Angelo

Stiller

VfB Stuttgart

6

Joshua Walter

Kimmich

FC Bayern München

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