Germany vs Ukraine

Weserstadion forms the backdrop for an international exhibition match between Germany and Ukraine.

Germany’s return to Werder Bremen’s Weserstadion for the first time since 2012, when they slipped to a 2-1 friendly defeat against France, comes on the back of a goal-glutted 3-2 loss to fierce continental rivals Belgium in March. After back-to-back group-stage exits at the World Cup finals, ‘Die Mannschaft’ will hope for better luck at the UEFA Euro 2024 next year, yet an indifferent five-game record in the lead-up to this clash (W2, D1, L2) suggests manager Hansi Flick has plenty of work on his hands. Despite Germany’s form woes, an outrageous 100% unbeaten H2H ratio across eight previous meetings with Ukraine (W5, D3) marks them as clear-cut favorites to embark on a resurgence mission this week. However, after losing twice in their last three internationals on home soil (W1), the Germans cannot take anything for granted.

Meanwhile, Ukraine conceded twice before halftime in a 2-0 loss at England last time out, extending their dreadful winless run against sides with a better FIFA ranking at present to ten matches, if considered just 90 minutes of play (D3, L7). With the country still in wartime conditions, a first-ever victory over Germany since the dissolution of the Soviet Union would be a significant morale boost for Serhiy Rebrov’s team following another faltered attempt to qualify for the World Cup finals. Worryingly, though, a 3-1 defeat at RB Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena in November 2020 completed a hat-trick of multi-goal margin losses for the Ukrainians on German soil. But since each result came in a competitive setting, the friendly nature of this meeting may inspire hope in the visiting camp that they could turn their H2H fortunes around.