The main protagonists on Sunday night were two players that caused a minor scandal ahead of the game between Germany and Estonia.
Midfielders Ilkay Gündogan and Emre Can have liked an Instagram post by Turkish forward Cenk Tosun showing several Turkey players saluting, in what has been interpreted as support to the Turkish military’s action in Syria, during Turkey’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Albania.
“I liked Tosun’s post without intention and without paying attention to the content while scrolling through Instagram,” Can later told the German paper Bild. “I am a pacifist and against any form of war.”
“I took the like back after I noticed that it might be interpreted politically,” Gündogan said to the Sportinformationsdienst (SID). “Believe me: after last year, the last thing I want to do is make a political statement.”