Sane on target to begin Flick era with win

Liechtenstein 0-2 Germany
Goals: 0-1 Werner (41'), 0-2 Sane (77‘)

It was a dominant performance from start to finish for Flick's Germany, as they looked to take all three points from facing the side 173 places below them in FIFA’s World rankings. Germany quickly began to create chances with Joshua Kimmich forcing a save from Benjamin Büchel in the opening minutes before Werner had a shot saved from close range minutes later. Robin Gosens hit the crossbar with a header from Kimmich's delightful dink forward after 18 minutes, but then the chances dried up for Flick's side as Liechtenstein defended ever deeper. Gosens headed over from close range once more before the opening goal finally came with just four minutes to play before half-time. Jamal Musiala was the key as he dribbled past two defenders before sliding Werner in on goal, who neatly slotted the ball under Büchel for the first goal in the Flick era.

Germany picked up where they left off in the second with possession and territorial dominance of the game. Clear-cut chances were hard to come by, with Ilkay Gündogan’s shot from just inside the Liechtenstein area being blocked behind after 57 minutes. Marco Reus came on to make his international come back on the hour mark with Flick pushing his side on for more before time ran out. Werner should have done better with a header from close range on the end of Leroy Sane’s cross from the left with 15 minutes to play as Germany continued their search for more goals. Finally, a second goal came with 77 minutes played after fine individual work from Sane in the Liechtenstein area. In the final 10 minutes, Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz came on for his Germany debut as Flick picked up his first win as head coach with two more games to play during this international break against Armenia and Iceland.

Match stats

• Flick becomes only the 11th Bundestrainer - head coach of the Germany national team - after spending eight years as assistant to Löw during his 15-year reign.
• Kimmich was Germany’s captain for the second time in his career but first in a competitive fixture.
• This was Germany's first game since the passing of Gerd Müller, who is second in their all-time scoring list behind Miroslav Klose with 68 goals. Thomas Müller is ninth on 39 goals, three behind Michael Ballack's 42.
• Florian Wirtz became the youngest player to score seven Bundesliga goals last weekend, aged 18 years, 3 months and 25 days. Just hours later, Musiala – who is just two and a half months older than Wirtz – became the second-youngest, dislodging Timo Werner.
• Only the group winners qualify automatically for the World Cup, which takes place in Qatar between 21 November and 18 December, 2022. The runners-up enter a play-off for the six remaining qualifying berths for European nations.

Line-ups

Liechtenstein: Büchel - S. Wolfinger (Yildiz 83'), Malin (Kollmann 83'), Kaufmann, Hofer, Göppel - N. Frick (Grünenfelder 71'), Frommelt, Hasler (c) - Sele (F. Wolfinger 61'), Y. Frick (Kardesoglu 71')
Unused subs: Hobi, Lo Russo, Spirig, Koller, Büchel, Ospelt
Out: -
Coach: Martin Stocklasa

Germany: Leno - Baku (Hofmann 60'), Süle, Kehrer, Gosens - Gündogan (Goretzka 73'), Kimmich (c) (Wirtz 82') - Musiala (Reus 60'), Havertz (Gnabry 60'), Sane - Werner
Unused subs: Trapp, Rüdiger, Schlotterbeck, Adeyemi, Raum, Dahoud
Out: Müller (thigh), Neuer (hamstring)
Coach: Hansi Flick

As it happened!