Germany vs. Belarus: Player ratings

Manuel Neuer: As so often against deep-lying sides, Germany’s No1 had little to do, only making three saves all game. One was eye-catching to deny Kovalev, one was routine and the other prevented Stasevich from reducing the arrears from the penalty spot. 8

Lukas Klostermann: The 23-year-old had a lot of joy down the right wing, but despite regularly getting into dangerous areas, struggled to produce the all-important final pass. 5

Matthias Ginter: The football gods shone on Ginter in Mönchengladbach. On home turf, the centre-back let little get past him and scored a goal that would have made Lionel Messi blush. His dummy set up Germany’s second, while his square ball teed up Kroos for the third. 9 

Robin Koch: Koch had acquitted himself well at the heart of Germany’s backline before getting wrong side of Nekhaychik and giving away a penalty with a clumsy challenge. Neuer spared his blushes, but not his rating. 4

Nico Schulz: The most impactful thing the Borussia Dortmund left-back did in the entire 90 minutes was to ring Kovalev’s bell by catching him with his shoulder in a mistimed challenge. His end product left a lot to be desired. 3

Joshua Kimmich: Bayern Munich’s midfield metronome was the quietest of Germany’s midfield three. No reason for criticism and no reason for jubilation. 6

Toni Kroos: The Real Madrid man monotonous backwards and sideways passing was actually punctuated with purpose and positivity. With two goals and an assist, it was the first time since the 7-1 win over Brazil that Kroos had had a hand in two goals in a single game. 9 

Ilkay Gündogan: Some of his first touches were breathtaking. Some of his passes were spell-binding. There was scope for more than just one assist though. 7

Leon Goretzka: Germany’s second goal was a trademark effort from Goretzka as he swept home first time from a Kroos corner. The Bayern midfielder had chances to bag his 10th international goal, but will have been pleased with a successful return from injury. 7

Serge Gnabry: Despite providing the assist for Ginter’s opener, this will go down as one of Gnabry’s most disappointing performances in a Germany shirt. Then again he did set a ridiculously high bar by scoring six goals in his last six games on the international stage. 6

Timo Werner: A night to forget for Werner as he had nothing to show for the 68 minutes he spent on the pitch. 4 

Substitutes

Julian Brandt: Came off the bench with just over 20 minutes left to play, but struggled to assert himself on a game that had already been put beyond reach. 5

Luca Waldschmidt came on in the 84th minute, but lasted less than five minutes as the result of a heavy collision with Belarus keeper Gutor. The Freiburg forward had to be replaced by Sebastian Rudy as a result.