thomas hässler earned a point for the world champions against a side representing the former soviet union.
thomas hässler struck at the death to earn a share of the points for world champions germany in their opening euro '92 game against a defensive side representing the former soviet union.
jürgen klinsmann, standing on the edge of the wall, ducked when hässler took his 90th-minute free-kick, and the ball was whipped over him and into the top right corner. it was a tremendous strike by the best player on the day, and cancelled out igor dobrovolskiy's penalty opener for the commonwealth of independent states (cis).
the soviet union qualified for the finals before the nation was dissolved at the end of 1991. the team competed as the cis at the finals, and their chances of beating germany – much improved despite the absence of the injured lothar matthäus – received a lift when rudi völler broke his arm in a challenge with oleh kuznetzov, though he stayed on the pitch long enough to get a head to a hässler cross.
anatoliy byshovets's cis deployed a curious defence-oriented strategy, with dobrovolskiy pushed out wide and no central striker, and they flooded the midfield in the hope of a break. the tactic paid dividends when dobrovolskiy converted a 64th-minute penalty after tangling with stefan reuter in the area. the stage was set for a shock result, but hässler kept his head.
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