Germany vs. Armenia: Final score 6-1, Klose breaks goalscoring record in big win

If you need a demonstration that football is indeed a game of two halves, look no further than Germany's 6-1 demolition of Armenia in their final World Cup preparation match. The first half was a dull, goalless affair notable only for German star Marco Reus being worryingly carried off with an ankle injury, then after the restart, the hosts sprung to life to smash their visitors.

It took less than 10 minutes for Germany to create their first clear-cut chance of the match, with Philipp Lahm's cross glancing wide on a point-blank shot by André Schürrle. Within five minutes, they'd given Armenia another scare, this time Marco Reus seeing an effort hooked off the goalline after he was threaded through by a perfect Thomas Müller pass. But for much of the half, the hosts created remarkably little in a disappointingly flat performance. With their passing lacking purpose and their opponents looking untroubled, Germany looked distinctly un-German.

If the home crowd thought the performance was bad, things got much, much worse on the stroke of halftime. Reus, one of Die Mannschaft's few bright sparks, went in for a fair challenge on an Armenian defender, only to twist his ankle badly in the process. He was promptly carted off the field, unable to place any weight on his injured side.

However, whether galvanized by Reus' injury or otherwise, it took only seven minutes of the second half before Germany finally broke the deadlock. Substitute Lukas Podolski charged down the left and drilled the ball across for Schürrle to tap beyond Roman Berezovsky and record the game's opening goal.

Suddenly the hosts looked a little livelier, though the next clear-cut chance of the game fell perfectly for Armenia's right winger Edgar Manucharyan. With Germany full back Benedikt Höwedes caught horribly out of position, Henrikh Mkhitaryan slipped the ball across for his teammate, only for him to blaze it over the bar when clean through on goal. Mesut Özil almost immediately punished his profligacy, but his effort from the edge of the box cracked against the post.

Germany were more confident going forward, but that only made them more vulnerable on the counter-attack. It told with just over 20 minutes left, when Kevin Großkreutz tripped Gevorg Ghazaryan in the penalty area. Mkhitaryan stepped up and buried the ball beyond his Borussia Dortmund teammate Roman Weidenfeller, and things were all square once again. But not for long.

Armenia were level for less than three minutes when Özil threaded Podolski through on goal and the winger stroked the ball in for 2-1. The victory was sealed only a minute later, with Germany adding a third from an unlikely source. Defender Höwedes found himself up at the back post to nod Bastian Schweinsteiger's cross past Berezovsky and double his side's advantage. And they weren't finished there.

They racked up their third goal in five minutes thanks to Miroslav Klose, who dived onto Podolski's cross from close-range to smash Germany's all-time goalscoring record in typical Klose fashion. Mario Götze added the icing to the cake with a brace the final 10 minutes; the first a simple finish after being sent through on goal by the impressive Podolski, and the second the culmination of an almighty scramble in the Armenia box.

Germany: Weidenfeller; Höwedes, Hummels, Mertesacker, Boateng (Großkreutz 67'); Kroos, Lahm (Özil 46'), Khedira (Schweinsteiger 59'); Reus (Podolski 45'), Schürrle (Götze 75'), Müller (Klose 67').

Goals: Schürrle (52'), Podolski (71'), Höwedes (73'), Klose (76'), Götze (82', 89').

Armenia: Berezovsky; Hayrapetyan, Arzumanyan, Mkoyan, Haroyan; Yedigary, Hovsepyan (Sarkisov 74'); Ghazaryan, Mkhitaryan, Manucharyan (Tumasyan 77'); Movsisyan.

Goals: Mkhitaryan (pen. 69').