Undav scores twice as Germany beat Finland 4-0 in World Cup warm-up

MAINZ: Deniz Undav struck twice and set up another goal as Germany secured a 4-0 victory over Finland on Sunday in Mainz in their last home friendly before the World Cup.

Undav was given a rare start and played a central role in the win, linking up with 18-year-old Lennart Karl, who made his first start for Germany. Jamal Musiala also marked his return from injury with a goal, while Florian Wirtz was among the scorers as Germany overpowered a Finland side ranked 73rd in the world.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann rotated his side for the match, handing starts to Undav, Nathaniel Brown and Felix Nmecha, while Karl was named in the line-up for the first time. Veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who returned to the international setup almost two years after retiring, missed the game with a calf problem, leaving Oliver Baumann to start in goal.

Karl made an immediate impression, driving in from the right early on. Brown then found Undav, but the Stuttgart forward was denied by Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. Germany eventually went ahead in the 34th minute when captain Joshua Kimmich delivered a cross from the right and Undav headed in.

Germany extended their lead early in the second half after Undav took advantage of a poor pass from Ville Koskipass and squared the ball for Wirtz to finish from close range. Just before the hour, Undav added his second after meeting a pass from Karl and finishing calmly.

Undav was substituted shortly after scoring again because of an injury, though he indicated afterwards that the issue was not serious. Speaking to Germany's ZDF network, he said:

It was a 10 out of 10 evening.

He added:

Good night, family was here, the main thing is we won... I had three goal contributions – it couldn't have gone much better.

On the injury, Undav said:

A little bit of pain but nothing wild.

Everything's fine. I'll need a couple of days treatment and then I'll be fine.

Musiala, playing his first match for Germany since March 2025 after missing much of the season with a broken leg, completed the scoring. It was his first Germany appearance in 434 days, and he capped his return by firing in from just inside the penalty area.

After the match, Musiala said:

I hope it was fun for everyone -- it was for me.

It'll do me good. I haven't scored for a while.

Germany have one more friendly before the World Cup, facing co-hosts the United States in Chicago on Saturday. They begin their tournament campaign against Curacao on June 14.