The 10,000 fans that packed FAU Football Stadium were treated to an offensive display Wednesday afternoon, when Germany and Ecuador met for a FIFA international friendly match.
Displaying experience and efficiency, the Germans held off a late comeback attempt from Ecuador, defeating them 4-2 in the rain-soaked match.
Early on – just over nine seconds into the match – Ecuador (10th in world rankings) found themselves in trouble.
Midfielder Lukas Podolski scored on a rare opportunity, the result of a defensive misstep on the part of Ecuador. A pass back to a stumbling Gabriel Achilier led to Podolski with an early chance at goal, which the German wouldn’t waste.
The goal itself was about as routine as it gets for Podolski, one of his two scores of the day. This was the second fastest goal in international soccer history, the speediest being a 1993 goal from San Marino’s David Gualtieri in a match against England.
The early salvo would prove to be just the opening act to a goal-heavy show.
Shortly after, at about three minutes, the Germans found another goal via midfielder Lars Bender. The Ecuadorian defense once again seemed lost in the situation. It took a well timed pass from international newcomer Sidney Sam to put Bender in the space for a relatively simple goal.
By the 44th minute, Germany had taken a resounding 4-0 lead. But just before going into halftime, Ecuadorian star winger-and Manchester United mainstay-Antonio Valencia darted his way past the German defense, finding himself at an opportune location just outside the right corner of the penalty box.
Valencia’s shot found its way into the net, cutting the deficit to 4-1 before going into the half.
With ten minutes remaining, and Germany still maintaining their 4-1 lead, Walter Ayovi guided a free kick past German keeper Rene Adler’s hands, netting the Ecuadorian side’s second goal of the match.
However, it would prove too little too late as the German side had taken this game by offensive storm and spent the remainder of the match in the lead.
Germany’s conservative second half would prove somewhat risky as Ecuador collected more shots on goal (11) than their German counterparts (4) in a flurried comeback quest.
Though the German side dominated the match, both sides combined for six goals on 15 goal-bound shots.
