Helped by two penalties by Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany came from behind to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 while Mexico beat Italy 2-1 and Spain needed an 85th minute winner to edge South Korea 1-0 in warm-up games on Thursday, eight days before the World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko threatened an upset in Frankfurt with a 15th-minute strike for non-qualifiers Bosnia which led at halftime. But Philip Lahm equalised in the 51st and Bastian Schweinsteiger fired home spot kicks in the 73rd and 78th to give the three-time champion Germans a boost ahead of their first Group D game against Australia in Durban on June 13. They go on to face Serbia and Ghana in one of the toughest groups. Carlos Vela gave the Mexicans a 16th-minute lead and Alberto Medina added a second in the 81st as Italy’s slow defense was exposed in Brussels although Leonardo Bonucci replied for the World Cup-holder. The performance is a blow for Marcello Lippi’s team ahead of their first game in defense of the title against Paraguay in Cape Town.
Then Italy meet New Zealand and Slovakia. The Mexicans face host South Africa in the opening game next Friday and then meet former champions France and Uruguay.
Spain’s winner was a 25-metre shot and a first in national colours for midfielder Jesus Navas as coach Vicente Del Bosque fielded many of his backup players in the Austrian city of Innsbruck.
The two teams used the venue and nearby training camp to get used to playing at high altitude, where many of their games will be in South Africa. Spain’s first game at the World Cup, however, will be at sea level at Durban against Switzerland before the European Champions move to the Highveld to take on Honduras at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park and Chile in nearby Pretoria.
The South Koreans start off against Greece at Port Elizabeth but then take on Argentina at Johannesburg’s Soccer City and their third group game is against Nigeria at Durban. In Friday’s warm-up games, France play China, Slovenia hosts New Zealand in Maribor and Japan takes on the Ivory Coast at Sion in Switzerland. — AP