International Friendlies: Austria 2-1 Germany, 5 talking points

#5 Peterson misses an opportunity to impress

Petersen's first international cap ended on a sour note

The SC Freiberg striker was handed his maiden international cap today, at the age of 29. With Timo Werner and Mario Gomez both on the bench, this was an opportunity for him to make a strong case for himself at the World Cups. But Peterson instead turned in a largely forgettable performance.

Firstly, Germany’s attack lacked the usual flair going forward. And in their best spell, which only lasted for the first 10 minutes or so, he was non-existent. A couple of passes hither and a few encouraging runs tither, Petersen had little else of value in his game.

Loew was clearly testing his fringe players in this match, as the starting line-up would suggest. And he surely wasn’t impressed by the Freiburg star, who was then taken off in the 75th minute for Gomez.

With just one more game to go before they kickoff their campaign in Russia, Germany are set to field a strong line-up against Saudi Arabia on Friday. And Petersen will be kicking himself when he finds himself on the bench.