Mesut Ozil scored two second-half goals to help Germany make a winning start in its World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Faroe Islands on Friday.
The Germans labored against an opponent that kept most of its men behind the ball for the majority of the Group C match.
''We missed too many chances, that seems to be our problem at the moment,'' coach Joachim Loew said after Germany's 500th international victory.
Mario Goetze opened the scoring in the 28th minute, and Ozil added goals in the 54th and 72nd for the European Championship semifinalists.
Ozil said his team had to be patient.
''We wanted to score an early goal and we put on the pressure from the start but we missed some chances,'' he said.
Goetze finally broke down the visitors' crowded defense with a solo effort past five defenders in the 28th minute. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder was in position to slot home a low shot inside the far post.
''They are very well organized, they defend deep,'' Goetze said.
Gunnar Nielsen, the Faeroes' goalkeeper who played for Manchester City until recently, made a string of stunning saves to prevent Germany from translating its huge possession advantage into more goals.
Nielsen stopped a pair of efforts from Marco Reus, plus close-range shots by Thomas Mueller and Sami Khedira among others. Late in the first half, he also tipped over a header from Mueller while Miroslav Klose, Germany's lone striker, fired high from some 10 meters (yards) out to miss another chance for the home side.
Simun Samuelsen had the first chance of the second half when he collected a pass from Joan Simun Edmundsson, but his weak attempt was easily smothered by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The visitors then got a corner, but the ball was cleared and Ozil carried it across the middle of the field before passing to Mueller on the right flank. Mueller centered to the onrushing Ozil, who knocked it into the net.
Nielsen turned away a low shot by Oezil in the 67th, but the Real Madrid midfielder collected a pass from Reus in the 72nd and drove the ball through Nielsen's legs to make it 3-0.
Neuer fumbled a shot by Christian Holst but grabbed it the second attempt in what was the visitors' only real shot at goal.
''We knew what to expect, we knew they would defend well,'' Mueller said. ''But we won, we took the three points. We missed some chances but we can live with 3-0.''
It was Germany's biggest win against the Faroes. It won the previous two matches 2-0 and 2-1.
Germany plays Austria in Vienna on Tuesday.
