Muscat: Germany edged out a fighting Oman 1-0 in a thrilling Fifa international friendly at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex here on Wednesday night.
Forward Niclas Fullkrug slotted in past Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini in the 80th minute to save the blushes of the four-time world champions.
Coach Hansi Flick, who was expecting more goals from the German side, also had a sigh of relief at the late goal.
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Oman missed a golden chance of the match after a brilliant counter attack in the 71st minute.
Forward Mohsin al Ghassani failed to put the ball into Manuel Nuer’s net after a clinical pass from midfielder Jameel al Yahmadi.
Mohsin was ruled offside when he came almost one-to-one with Germany keeper Nuer.
Zahir al Aghbari threatened German defence with his darting runs on the left flank.
A good turnout of 25,654 fans witnessed the Fifa international friendly
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Oman held back a slow Germany in the first half to a goalless draw.
Germany took time to settle and hosts Oman went ahead with good breaking moves from the start itself.
Oman started off with a nice move by Al Munther al Alawi which was dealt with difficulty by the German defence.
Germany made their presence at the Oman goalmouth with moves spearheaded by Leroy Sane.
Youssoufa Moukoko was replaced by Niclas Fullkrug in the forward line-up while Matthias Ginter made way for Christian Gunter in the defence for Germany in the second half substitutions.
Fullkrug got a decent chance in the 53rd minute but his shot was brilliantly saved by Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim al Mukhaini.
Omani players also survived a close goalmouth attack in the next minute to deny Germany.
In the 56th minute Zahir al Aghbari’s strong shot from a counter-attack was saved by German captain Manuel Nuer.
The resultant corner could not fetch any breakthrough for the Red Warriors.
Oman made two changes in the 61st minute.
Al Mundher al Alawai was substituted by Mataz Bait Abdraboh while Muhsen al Ghassani came in for Isaam al Subhi.
Germany made a change by bringing in Julian Brandt for Ilkay Gundogan in the 65th minute.
Coach Branko Ivankovic made a couple of changes during the injury time as Germany hung on for a close win.
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