Germany Play Spain to 1-1 2018 Friendly Draw; Thomas Muller Scores Goal

Germany and Spain played out a 1-1 draw in an international friendly at the Esprit Arena, Dusseldorf, on Friday as Rodrigo Moreno's opener was cancelled out by Thomas Muller's fine strike.

There was little to choose between the two sides, who both demonstrated their quality and strength in depth and showed they will take some beating at this summer's FIFA 2018 World Cup. 

The two teams shared their lineups on Twitter:

The first half was a sparkling affair full of free-flowing football as might be expected from two of the best teams in European football. Spain took just six minutes to open the scoring with Andres Iniesta finding Rodrigo with a glorious ball and the striker expertly applied the finish.

Spain went on to dictate play as they confidently knocked the ball around the reigning world champions with Real Madrid's Isco proving particularly influential. Football journalist Chris Williams said Germany were rattled:

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan said Spain must be favourites to win the FIFA World Cup 2018 on this form:

Yet Germany managed to find their way back into the game and equalised in some style through Muller. The Bayern Munich star hit a dipping shot from outside the box that flew past a helpless David De Gea in the Spain goal.

The hosts almost took the lead straight after half-time, but Julian Draxler's shot was pushed wide by De Gea at full stretch. Adam Crafton at the Daily Mail showed how the crowd reacted to his save:

At the other end, Germany had goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank for saving from Isco at point-blank range after they had been cut wide open by Spain.

Germany then came roaring straight back with De Gea once again called into action as he tipped a shot from Ilkay Gundogan around the post.

Robbie Dunne at AS noted the club rivalry at play:

Germany continued to attack with Timo Werner firing into the side-netting and Mats Hummels heading a Toni Kroos free-kick off the crossbar.

 A flurry of substitutions interrupted the flow of the match in the second half, but Spain still had sights of goal with a stretching David Silva finding the side netting from a Marco Asensio cross before Diego Costa had a good chance blocked.

Germany just edged the second half, but a draw was probably a fair result between two teams who were evenly matched and showed why they will be serious contenders to lift the World Cup this summer.