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Germany have solidified their position on top of Group 3 in UEFA World Cup qualifying, downing Kazakhstan 3-0 at Astana Arena. The hosts made a number of defensive errors in the first half, gifting the Germans a pair of early goals. From the 20th minute on, the visitors' motivation appeared to dissipate and they cruised to victory, adding a garbage goal late.
Unfortunately for Germany, things didn't get off to a great start on the night. They surprisingly gave up a couple of dangerous counters early, while Julian Draxler picked up an injury. The youngster, who was picked ahead of Lukas Podolski, had to exit the game and was replaced by the Arsenal forward who normally starts ahead of him.
Bastian Schweinsteiger showed off some fantastic skill on the Germans' first goal in the 20th minute, picking up the ball from Mesut Özil and juggling past a pair of defenders before finishing past Andrey Sidelnikov. Just one minute later Sidelnikov unnecessarily came out of his goal to block a shot by Thomas Müller, left him stranded and allowed Mario Götze to score on an empty net. Müller scored an insurance goal in the 74th minute, capping off an easy win for his side.
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