It was only a matter of centimetres away from being a dream debut – and yet Maximilian Beier could still be mightily proud of himself following his first international appearance. Julian Nagelsmann had brought him on for Jamal Musiala around an hour into the friendly against Ukraine. And the TSG player needed less than two minutes on his first appearance for the senior national team to make a lasting impression. His first touch of the ball was a powerful shot against the crossbar (61), then he was denied by Ukraine’s outstanding goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin two minutes later. The 21-year-old registered another attempt on the 79-minute mark – this time a header – but the ball flew wide of the mark.
Beier received a lot of praise – and from the highest of places: Thomas Müller said in an “ARD” interview that in his eyes, the attacker’s debut had gone “exactly as expected” based on his impressions in training and called for courage and determination from the youngster in the upcoming games: “You could understand anyone acclimatising to the shirt in their first game, but we don’t need that. Rather, we need freshness and spark from the lads too and that’s why we’re together for so long now.”
Julian Nagelsmann was also delighted with the strong performance from the Hoffenheim man, who scored bonus points in the battle for a EURO berth. “Maxi Beier had a very good game, settled in very well and had three good chances.” “kicker” magazine said of Beier: “Beier made his first statement of intent in capital letters.”
In addition, national team coach Nagelsmann announced in the evening that the final personnel decisions would only be made after this week: “We’re not hoping for anything to happen, but something can always happen that gives you an unnecessarily tough time and a headache.”
Beier’s TSG strike partner Andrej Kramarić was also in action on Monday evening and helped Croatia beat their North Macedonian counterparts 3-0 (2-0) in Rijeka. Kramarić was in the starting XI and was substituted off in the 55th minute with the score at 2-0.
The international fixtures before UEFA EURO 2024 at a glance
Oliver Baumann, Maximilian Beier (Germany)
International friendly: Germany 0-0 Ukraine, Monday, 3 June
International friendly: Germany vs. Greece, Friday, 7 June
Jacob Bruun Larsen (Denmark)
International friendly: Denmark vs. Sweden, Wednesday, 5 June
International friendly: Denmark vs. Norway, Saturday, 8 June
Andrej Kramarić (Croatia)
International friendly: Croatia 3-0 North Macedonia, Monday, 3 June
International friendly: Portugal vs. Croatia, Saturday, 8 June
Wout Weghorst (Netherlands)
International friendly: Netherlands vs. Canada, Thursday, 6 June
International friendly: Netherlands vs. Iceland, Monday, 10 June
Florian Grillitsch (Austria)
International friendly: Austria vs. Serbia, Tuesday, 4 June
International friendly: Switzerland vs. Austria, Saturday, 8 June
Ozan Kabak (Turkey)
International friendly: Italy vs. Turkey, Tuesday, 4 June
International friendly: Poland vs. Turkey, Monday, 10 June
Attila Szalai (Hungary)
International friendly: Ireland vs. Hungary, Tuesday, 4 June
International friendly: Hungary vs. Israel, Saturday, 8 June
Diadie Samassékou (Mali)
World Cup qualifiers: Mali vs. Ghana, Thursday, 6 June
World Cup qualifiers: Madagascar vs. Mali, Tuesday, 11 June
Ihlas Bebou (Togo)
World Cup qualifiers: Togo vs. South Sudan, Wednesday, 5 June
World Cup qualifiers: DR Congo vs. Togo, Sunday, 9 June
A list of matches at UEFA EURO 2024 will follow before the start of the tournament.