Germany captain Manuel Neuer’s comeback ended in defeat by Austria in a friendly delayed by 105 minutes because of heavy rain in Klagenfurt. Goalkeeper Neuer, out since September with a broken foot, returned just 15 days before his country’s World Cup defence begins against Mexico.
Mesut Ozil pounced on a goalkeeping error to give Germany the lead. But Martin Hinteregger equalised with a superb angled volley before Alessandro Schopf steered in the winner.
It ensured Austria their first win over Germany in 32 years and maintained Franco Foda’s 100% record since becoming their coach last November.
Germany head coach Joachim Low rested Bayern Munich pair Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels, along with Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, in order to give them time to recover at the end of a demanding club season. It looked for a while as if the rest of Low’s squad would be given the night off too as a downpour put the game in doubt.
Czech referee Pavel Kralovec carried out a number of pitch inspections – with the kick-off put back three times – before finally deciding that play could start.
