Germany show old style

Germany 4 Spain 1

Germany 4 Spain 1

Mehmet Scholl and Alexander Zickler scored two goals apiece as Germany began its rehabilitation after a disastrous Euro 2000 campaign with a 4-1 victory over Spain in an exhibition match Wednesday.

The match was a triumphant start for interim coach Rudi Voeller, who will guide the German team into the qualifications for the 2002 World Cup in his one-year tenure.

Voeller took over the team after Germany failed to get past the group stage at this summer's European Championship.

Scholl scored the only goal in the first halftime and notched another after the break, with Zickler adding two more in quick succession as the Germans overwhelmed the reshuffled Spanish team.

Raul Gonzales, the Real Madrid striker, faked two German defenders and found the roof of the net in the 69th minute for Spain's only goal.

The Spanish league season still has not started and the Spaniards were clearly out of shape. Coach Jose Antonio Camacho made many changes from the team that reached the quarterfinals at Euro 2000.

In the 24th minute, midfielder Scholl drove home a free kick from 20 meters (yards) to put Germany ahead. His curling shot over the Spanish wall found the upper right corner of the net, with goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez reading the angle but unable to reach the ball.

Scholl scored Germany's only goal at Euro 2000.

In the 37th, Spain threatened the German goal when Joseba Etxeberria dribbled past Joerg Heinrich and unleashed a hard, low shot that trickled through Oliver Kahn's legs, but the goalkeeper managed to retrieve the ball before it crossed the line.

Kahn also did well to stop a long-range attempt by Gaizka Mendieta a few minutes later, as Spain became the more dangerous team after Germany's lead.

Raul found the net in the final minute of first halftime, but his effort was ruled offside.

Just seconds after the break, Carsten Jancker hit the crossbar with an angled shot that seemed to have been meant as a cross.

In the 51st, substitute defender Ivan Campo lost the ball in front of the Spanish penalty area, Scholl used the mistake to make a 1-2 play with Jancker, who gave Scholl a perfect feed and he slotted the ball under Cesar into the net.

Jancker also had a big role in the third goal, chipping a superb through pass to Zickler, who broke through and slipped the ball through Cesar's feet in the 57th.

Five minutes later, Scholl launched Zickler on the left with a clever through pass and the Bayern Munich striker shot inside the near post to make it 4-0.

About 45,000 fans watched the match.

Lineups:

Germany: Oliver Kahn; Marco Rehmer, Jens Nowotny, Joerg Heinrich (Thomas Linke, 67); Sebastian Deisler, Michael Ballack, Carsten Ramelow, Marco Bode (Stefan Beinlich, 45); Mehmet Scholl (Oliver Neuville, 65), Carsten Jancker (Paulo Rink, 73), Alexander Zickler. Spain: Cesar Sanchez; Juan Velasco, Abelardo Fernandez, Paco Jemez (Ivan Campo, 45), Juanfran Garcia; Joseba Etxeberria, Gerard Lopez, Josep Guardiola, Gaizka Mendieta; Raul Gonzalez, Dani Garcia.

Northern Ireland 1 Yugoslavia 2

Match report to come