Are Germany ready for Euro 2024?! Late Pascal Gross goal spares blushes of tournament hosts in final warm-up friendly against Greece

It was not one of the brightest nights for German football, but they did find a way to pull through against a resilient Greek side before heading into Euro 2024. Although the hosts were dominating possession from the first whistle, it was Greece who got the first significant opportunity to score. Christos Tzolis found himself in a one-on-one situation with Neuer but the goalkeeper pulled off a brilliant double save to keep the scoreline unchanged.

After the massive let-off, Germany regained control but found no rhythm or penetration in the attacking third as Greece sat deep and soaked in the pressure with little trouble. However, just after the half-hour mark, an uncharacteristic mistake from Neuer allowed Greece to take the lead. Tzolis rifled in a shot from outside the box and the keeper failed to make a clean save which allowed Giorgos Masouras to score on the rebound.

Julian Nagelsmann's troops came out all guns blazing in the second half and took just 10 minutes to score the equaliser. Kai Havertz cushioned the ball with a brilliant first touch and then volleyed on the turn. His shot took a slight deflection off a Greece defender, which wrong-footed the keeper, and the ball nestled into the back of the net. Germany upped the ante in the final quarter, with the hope of getting a winner and their persistence paid off as Brighton's Pascal Gross scored a stunner in the 89th minute to send the Greeks packing.

Although there were a few contenders for the MVP award, including Gross and Jamal Musiala, Arsenal forward Havertz did enough to edge out the others. He worked tirelessly in attack, got into some really good positions to keep the centre-backs on their toes, and his equaliser to bring Germany back into the game meant that he ticked all the boxes that his manager would have wanted him to. After Niclas Fullkrug was introduced later in the second half, he drifted to the flanks and played in tandem with the typical No. 9.

Although Neuer made a few sensational saves to keep the Greeks at bay throughout the match, his howler that led to the opener is concerning. It was almost a replay from the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid when he scuffed the ball and Joselu made him pay at the Santiago Bernabeu - and this time it was Masouras. With Marc-Andre ter Stegen waiting on the flanks, the mistake could cost Neuer dearly in the European Championship.

Germany will be in action against Scotland on June 14 in the Euro 2024 opener at Allianz Arean in Munich.