Mexico, Germany battle to hard-fought 2-2 draw in Philadelphia

An equalizer from Borussia Dortmund's Niclas Füllkrug secured a 2-2 draw for Germany in a friendly against Mexico on Tuesday.

Held in front of more than 62,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the international exhibition quickly hit the ground running with Germany's Florian Wirtz forcing a short-range save from Mexico goalkeeper and captain Guillermo Ochoa in the 5th minute.

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Although Mexico did well to absorb pressure and defend in the early stages of the match, the Germans would eventually break the deadlock by the 25th minute through a corner. Following a redirected header from Union Berlin's Robin Gosens, Real Madrid central defender Antonio Rüdiger then found himself with an opportunity to pounce on the ball and head it past Ochoa.

Germany would score once again soon through a goal from Thomas Müller, but the Bayern Munich forward was ruled offside.

In the 37th minute, Ochoa launched a ball forward that helped secure an equalizer for the North Americans. With Mexico winger Hirving "Chucky" Lozano forcing a turnover in Germany's final third, the PSV Eindhoven player then sent in a short cross to Cruz Azul's Uriel Antuna, who slotted the ball into the net to make it 1-1.

Inspired by their equalizer, Mexico looked proactive after the halftime break.

Capitalizing on time and space given on the right flank, Antuna launched a cross into the 18-yard box towards Pachuca midfielder Érick Sánchez. Leaping forward, the 24-year-old connected with the ball and put Mexico up 2-1 by the 47th minute.

With little time for 'El Tri' to celebrate, Germany would soon respond. Despite a highlight-worthy save from Ochoa off a well-timed shot from Wirtz in the 51st minute, Füllkrug then rapidly rebounded a shot past Mexico's goalkeeper.

Initially carrying more of the momentum in the match, Germany were subsequently pushed back by the CONCACAF side that were attempting to find a late game-winner. Substitutes such as Sebastian Cordova, Luis Chávez and Cesar Huerta gave Mexico added attacking threat, but by the final whistle, the scoreline was cemented at 2-2.

With the result in hand, both Mexico and Germany will close out the international break with a two-game undefeated run after previously earning wins last Saturday. While Mexico defeated Ghana 2-0, Germany surpassed the United States with a 3-1 victory.