Beier impresses, Kabak & Grillitsch injured

The international fixtures on Tuesday brought little in the way of positive news for TSG Hoffenheim. Attila Szalai, who is on loan with SC Freiburg, did not feature in Hungary's 2-1 defeat in Ireland.

Florian Grillitsch was in the starting line-up and set up Christoph Baumgartner to make it 2-0 (13) in Austria's 2-1 victory against Serbia, but had to be substituted off with head injuries shortly before the interval following a collision with Maksimovic.

Ozan Kabak also had to prematurely leave the pitch in Türkiye's away game in Italy (0-0). The 24-year-old remained on the ground injured following a challenge in the 38th minute, immediately signalled he was in pain, was carried off on a stretcher (42) and immediately taken to a nearby hospital in Bologna with a suspected serious knee injury.

Maximilian Beier had a much better start to the international week. On Monday evening, he came on as a substitute in Germany's match against Ukraine (0-0) and almost scored his first international goal on his debut. Julian Nagelsmann had brought him on for Jamal Musiala around an hour into the friendly against Ukraine. And the TSG player needed less than two minutes on his first appearance for the senior national team to make a lasting impression. His first touch of the ball was a powerful shot against the crossbar (61), then he was denied by Ukraine's outstanding goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin two minutes later. The 21-year-old registered another attempt on the 79-minute mark – this time a header – but the ball flew wide of the mark.

Beier received a lot of praise – and from the highest of places: Julian Nagelsmann was delighted with the strong performance from the Hoffenheim man, who scored bonus points in the battle for a EURO berth. "Maxi Beier had a very good game, settled in very well and had three good chances." "kicker" magazine said of Beier: "Beier made his first statement of intent in capital letters."

Beier's TSG strike partner Andrej Kramarić was also in action on Monday evening and helped Croatia beat their North Macedonian counterparts 3-0 (2-0) in Rijeka. Kramarić was in the starting XI and was substituted off in the 55th minute with the score at 2-0.

 

The international fixtures before UEFA EURO 2024 at a glance

Oliver Baumann, Maximilian Beier (Germany)

International friendly: Germany 0-0 Ukraine, Monday, 3 June

International friendly: Germany vs. Greece, Friday, 7 June

Jacob Bruun Larsen (Denmark)

International friendly: Denmark vs. Sweden, Wednesday, 5 June

International friendly: Denmark vs. Norway, Saturday, 8 June

Andrej Kramarić (Croatia)

International friendly: Croatia 3-0 North Macedonia, Monday, 3 June

International friendly: Portugal vs. Croatia, Saturday, 8 June

Wout Weghorst (Netherlands)

International friendly: Netherlands vs. Canada, Thursday, 6 June

International friendly: Netherlands vs. Iceland, Monday, 10 June

Florian Grillitsch (Austria)

International friendly: Austria 2-1 Serbia, Tuesday, 4 June

International friendly: Switzerland vs. Austria, Saturday, 8 June

Ozan Kabak (Turkey)

International friendly: Italy 0-0 Turkey, Tuesday, 4 June

International friendly: Poland vs. Turkey, Monday, 10 June

Attila Szalai (Hungary)

International friendly: Ireland 2-1 Hungary, Tuesday, 4 June

International friendly: Hungary vs. Israel, Saturday, 8 June

Diadie Samassékou (Mali)

World Cup qualifiers: Mali vs. Ghana, Thursday, 6 June

World Cup qualifiers: Madagascar vs. Mali, Tuesday, 11 June 

Ihlas Bebou (Togo)

World Cup qualifiers: Togo vs. South Sudan, Wednesday, 5 June

World Cup qualifiers: DR Congo vs. Togo, Sunday, 9 June

A list of matches at UEFA EURO 2024 will follow before the start of the tournament.