Germany draws 2-2 with Denmark in friendly

Germany draws 2-2 with Denmark in friendly

Published Aug. 11, 2010 10:21 p.m. ET

Denmark rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Germany in an international friendly on Wednesday following Mads Junker's late equalizer.

Germany led 1-0 in the 19th minute when Thomas Hitzlsperger's low cross found Mario Gomez, who sent it past a diving Thomas Sorensen in goal.

Patrick Helmes scored a second goal after a German counterattack in the 73rd.

Denmark veteran Dennis Rommedahl, who was playing his 100th international, reduced the margin a minute later. And Junker equalized in the 86th after goalkeeper Tim Wiese had lost the ball.

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After an even and uninspiring first half, both teams created more chances in the second 45 minutes.

Denmark defender Daniel Agger hit the post in that period, and later Junker had a shot blocked by Wiese. Hitzlsperger and Gomez also both had attempts on target for Germany.

Germany coach Joachim Loew only took seven players from his World Cup squad to play Denmark, which also selected an inexperienced lineup.

The timing of the friendly had come in for criticism from coaches in the Bundesliga. As a result, Loew decided to leave most of Germany's World Cup stars at home, many of whom who have only just returned from holiday.

Several of Denmark's players retired from international football after the World Cup, including Jon Dahl Tomasson and Martin Jorgensen, allowing some new players to stake a claim for a starting place in the team's first 2012 European Championship qualifier against Iceland on Sept. 3.

Germany's qualifying campaign kicks off away at Belgium on the same day.

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Lineups:

Denmark: Thomas Sorensen, Lars Jacobsen, Simon Kjaer, Daniel Agger, Simon Busk Poulsen (Johnny Thomsen, 27), Mike Jensen (Lasse Schone, 46), Thomas Enevoldsen (Michael Silberbauer 46), William Kvist (Kasper Lorentzen, 67), Christian Eriksen, Nicklas Pedersen (Mads Junker, 54), Dennis Rommedahl.

Germany: Tim Wiese, Andreas Beck (Sascha Riether, 56), Jerome Boateng (Christian Schulz, 77), Serdar Tasci, Marcel Schafer, Christian Trasch, Thomas Hitzlsperger (Patrick Helmes, 66), Aaron Hunt, Toni Kroos, Marko Marin, Mario Gomez.

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