Germany 2 Belgium 0
August 21, 2008![Bastian Schweinsteiger](https://static.dw.com/image/3399719_800.webp)
The first goal came from the penalty spot when acting captain Bastian Schweinsteiger fired home in the 59th minute after Daniel van Buyten fouled Germany's Mario Gomez. In just his second appearance for his country, 19-year-old Marko Marin scored the match's second goal with a curling shot into the far corner in the 77th minute.
"The result is very satisfactory, the 2-0 win was well deserved," Germany coach Joachim Loew said, according to the dpa news agency. "But the result was of secondary importance to me. I mostly wanted to see the team try to make combinations, to move the ball quickly, to finish the game quickly. The players interpreted that well and managed it very well."
Loew praised young defender Serdar Tasci's national team debut in front of the 34,117 spectators in Nuremberg, adding that the 21-year-old "delivered everything we expected from him."
German striker Lukas Podolski missed a good opportunity when he was fouled hard by Belgian goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen.
A hard time for Belgium
Despite displaying a mostly solid defense against Germany, Belgium could not deliver in the offensive third.
"We had our chances against a good German side but technically we made some mistakes which was disappointing," Belgian coach Rene Vandereycken told reporters.
It was Germany's first match of the new international soccer season and they are warming up ahead of their first World Cup 2010 qualifier match against Liechtenstein on Sept. 6. They will then face the other teams in their group: Russia, Finland, Wales and Azerbaijan.