Nationalelf secure Nations League semi final place despite late drama | OneFootball

Germany wasted no time asserting themselves at Westfalenstadion, nearly opening the scoring within seconds. Maximilian Mittelstädt found space inside the box just 15 seconds in but couldn't capitalise. Just a minute later, Leon Goretzka had a chance of his own as the hosts piled early pressure on Italy.

As the half progressed, Germany kept the Azzurri penned deep in their own half. Italy struggled to gain any attacking momentum, and in the 26th minute, Gianluigi Donnarumma was finally called into action, comfortably saving a low drive from Leroy Sané on the edge of the box.

The breakthrough came in the 29th minute when Germany were awarded a penalty. Goretzka picked out Tim Kleindienst with a well-weighted pass behind the Italian defence, and Alessandro Buongiorno’s clumsy challenge brought him down. Joshua Kimmich stepped up and coolly dispatched the spot-kick into the bottom left corner.

Germany doubled their lead in the 36th minute with a clever set-piece routine. Kimmich caught the Italian defence off guard with a quick corner, allowing Jamal Musiala to tap into an open net and put the hosts firmly in control.

The first-half dominance was capped off in the 45th minute when Kleindienst made it 3-0, rising highest to head home and send Germany into the break with one foot in the semifinals.

With the aggregate score at 5-1 heading into the second half, Moise Kean was able to pull one back for Italy in the 49th minute as he sent a well-struck effort into the bottom left-hand corner of Oliver Baumann's goal.

And as the visitors looked to pile more pressure on to reduce the deficit, Kean was once again at the heart of proceedings as he netted his second of the night with a fine right-footed finish past Baumann inside the box with 20 minutes of regular time left to play.

Failing to gain back control of the tie, Germany got away with one in the 75th minute when a penalty decision was reversed following what was originally judged as a foul on Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

Into three minutes of a total six minutes added on, Giacomo Raspadori handed Italy a further lifeline as he netted from the spot following a Maximilian Mittelstädt handball inside the box.

However, the four-time world champions were able to see out the win under tense conditions and claim a 5-4 aggregate victory that sees the Nationalelf progress to the Nations League semi-finals for the first time since the inception of the competition.

Germany will now host the remaining ties of the campaign in June.