By IANS,
Berlin : Germany sealed their first win against the Netherlands since 1996 after they blanked the Dutch outfit 3-0 in a football friendly at Hamburg Tuesday. England scored their 2,000th goal to beat Sweden 1-0 at Wembley.
Germany, right from the start, played attacking football soccer whereas the Netherlands seemed clueless throughout the 90 minutes. With only 14 minutes into the match, Germany opened the scoring when striker Thomas Mueller finished the assist from Miroslav Klose, Xinhua reported.
The “Elftal” was shocked by the early deficit so that Germany were able to double the lead only ten minutes later when top striker Klose headed home a cross to mark his 63rd goal from 113 international caps.
It remained a one-sided affair as the “Elftal” stayed absolutely passive and unimaginative.
Germany wrapped up the deserved victory in the 66th minute through midfielder Mesut Oezil, who slotted home a combination into the open goal.
It was the last match for the German national squad this year, which ended with a confident win over FIFA second positioned Netherlands in the 75th match under coach Joachim Loew.
“I am not satisfied not only with today’s performance but with the whole year regarding our faultless performance at the Euro qualifiers. Today, we have played with ease and overwhelmed the Dutch defence,” Loew said after the match.
At Wembley, Gareth Barry’s header in the 23rd minute secured a second consecutive win for England after they beat World and European Champions Spain Sunday.
Complete results:
Luxembourg 0 Switzerland 1
England 1 Sweden 0
Belarus 1 Libya 1
Costa Rica 2 Spain 2
Germany 3 Netherlands 0
Ukraine 2 Austria 1
Italy 0 Uruguay 1
Poland 2 Hungary 1
Slovenia 2 United States 3
Denmark 2 Finland 1
Nigeria 2 Zambia 0
Zimbabwe 2 South Africa 1
Guinea 1 Burkina Faso 1
Ghana 2 Gabon 1