Germany was on the front foot right from kickoff against Israel, controlling possession and keeping its opponents penned back in their own half.

It took 19 minutes for them to register its first sight on goal, though it came from an unfamiliar source. A quick turn by Jerome Boateng inside the area manufactured an inch of space, but his shot rebounded off the woodwork.

Low’s men appeared comfortable but not clinical, with a lack of end product betraying their ease at finding holes in the Israel midfield ranks.

Khedira’s center was flicked by Muller into the path of Gomez, and the Bayern striker turned away from his marker and ripped an unstoppable effort into the roof of the net.

Israel then had a rare sight on goal within moments, courtesy of substitute Gil Vermouth, whose charging run from midfield ended with a low curler that was pounced on by Manuel Neuer.

The pattern of the second half mirrored the first, with Germany unable to add a finishing touch to their enterprise in midfield, while Israel appeared happy to sit deep and relieve pressure on the counter whenever they could.

Mesut Ozil dragged a shot wide before teeing up Podolski inside the area for another wayward attempt as Low’s men seemed unable to translate their superiority into goals.

The new Arsenal signing saw another opportunity spurned when he drove down the left flank and unleashed a low drive that was smothered by Harush.

Germany would finally get its second eight minutes from the end through Schurrle, who curled a superb effort from outside the D into the top corner past the despairing Harush.

Klose saw a late header tipped over by the Israel keeper, but at that point, it mattered little as the result was already secure.

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