Germany get the better of Belgium

Germany 2-0 Belgium
A Bastian Schweinsteiger penalty and a Marko Marin goal gave the UEFA EURO 2008™ runners-up a hard-earned victory in Nuremberg.

Absent friends
Both sides went into the friendly at less than full strength, with Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings, René Adler, Jermaine Jones and Per Mertesacker injured for the hosts, and many of Belgium's first-choice players on duty at the Olympics. Miroslav Klose drew a save from Stijn Stijnen in the early stages as Germany dominated, with a Tom de Sutter effort representing the Belgian response.

Useful saves
Schweinsteiger then volleyed wide from a couple of metres, yet the Belgium defence weathered the pressure well until the interval, when Germany forwards Klose and Lukas Podolski were replaced by Mario Gómez and Kevin Kuranyi. Stijnen needed to be sharp to deny Kuranyi a shot from Thomas Hitzlsperger's through ball and also did well to block an impressive Philipp Lahm strike.

First goal
It took a penalty to break the deadlock, with Schweinsteiger finishing on 59 minutes after FC Bayern München's Daniel Van Buyten had fouled Gómez. Joachim Löw's side made certain of the result on 77 minutes with Marin playing a one-two with Lahm before rounding a defender and scoring. It was a first international goal for the 19-year-old midfielder, who was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina but raised in Germany.