In anticipation of a Germany squad that, under Julian Nagelsmann, has found its form once again to put on a show less than two weeks before they open Euro 2024 against Scotland in Munich on June 14, more than 44,000 spectators were enthusiastic at kickoff.

Supporters of Germany witnessed something very different: despite dominating for long lengths of time and creating lots of opportunities, Nagelsmann’s squad was unable to overcome a resilient Ukraine.

“I felt like the team wanted to win and we played very well for long stretches of time,” Nagelsmann told the German public radio Das Erste.

“The first twenty minutes of the game were fantastic. That’s when we had to take action.

“I think we ought to be even more aggressive.

All we need to do is put a little more pressure on their penalty area and stuff the box with more players. “The players we brought on did not need any time to get into the game; they all did well,” the 36-year-old said.

Germany came into this game having turned the corner under Nagelsmann, having just defeated France and the Netherlands. Their fast-paced, aggressive play style inspired optimism that this European Championship could be won thanks to home advantage.

Nagelsmann was without Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos and Antonio Ruediger, as well as Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck and Niclas Fuellkrug, who had both taken a break following their team’s Champions League victory.

Pascal Gross, a midfielder for Brighton, did a great job keeping things together alongside Robert Andrich of Bayer Leverkusen in Kroos’ absence. Germany’s defence appeared to be fairly at ease, with Jonathan Tah and Waldemar Anton of Stuttgart making their official debuts.

Even with Nagelsmann’s replacements, Germany was not very effective in attack and lacked a cutting edge.

Arsenal’s Kai Havertz was isolated at times, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, whose every move produced a flurry of energy across the stadium, failed to get things going before halftime.

Germany’s best opportunity of the first half came from an error in leap judgement by Ilkay Guendogan as he attempted to meet a Gross tease.

Maximilian Beier, who had entered the game a minute earlier, hit Andrich’s perfect through ball with a first-time effort that rattled the inside of the post, giving Germany their closest opportunity at the hour mark.

A second-half substitute himself, Thomas Mueller lauded the impact of the 21-year-old Hoffenheim striker who has been connected to a Premier League transfer.

“Maxim Beier did it flawlessly,” Mueller said.

“The post’s very corner worked; it just needed a little bit of luck.” I thought that was a goal at first, and he would have been worthy of it.

“It’s not great not to win, but maybe it helped the tournament,” he continued.

Germany pounded the Ukraine goal throughout the game, but despite a series of outstanding saves by goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin, the visiting team’s defence held firm. Beier impressed in his cameo role.

The Ukrainians, who defeated Iceland in a play-off match in March to qualify for their fourth consecutive Euro, will take heart from their home defeat of the tournament hosts as they attempt to advance through a group that also contains Romania, Slovakia, and Belgium.

Although Gross and Andrich’s efforts as well as the influence of Beier and Deniz off the bench made Nagelsmann happy, the outcome raises some concerns ahead of Germany’s final warm-up match against Greece on June 7 in Moenchengladbach.

Germany’s first opponents in the competition will be Hungary on June 19 and Switzerland on June 20.