Germany produced a combative display to hold world champions Brazil to a 1-1 draw in a fiercely contested friendly international in Berlin on Wednesday.
Midfielder Ronaldinho opened the scoring for the visitors from a free kick nine minutes into the first clash between the two since Brazil's 2-0 victory over Germany in the 2002 World Cup final.
Brazil-born striker Kevin Kuranyi was left unmarked in the penalty area when he equalised for Germany eight minutes later, delighting over 70,000 fans packed into Berlin's newly renovated Olympic stadium.
Both the result and performance will encourage new Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann, who took over after the team's group stage exit from Euro 2004.
Wednesday's game was Klinsmann's home debut as coach after a 3-1 win over Austria in a friendly last month in Vienna.
The match started in worrying fashion for Germany, warming up for the 2006 World Cup on home soil with a string of friendlies.
Central defender Frank Fahrenhorst, winning his second cap, brought down Arsenal midfielder Edu just outside the box to enable Ronaldinho to open the scoring by casually flicking the ball over the wall and into the net.
BETTER SIDE
The goal woke up the Germans, who pressed forward after equalising and were clearly the better side in a lively first half.
Kuranyi, who had scored a hat-trick in the Austria victory, threatened again on 24 minutes with an angled effort from inside the box that required a brilliant save from Julio Cesar.
Seconds later the VfB Stuttgart striker found the back of the net after a goalmouth scramble but was disallowed for a foul on the Brazil goalkeeper.
Surprised by Germany's strong challenge, the Brazilians rarely showed all their skills but were dangerous on a few occasions, notably when striker Adriano headed the ball over the crossbar from a Juninho cross on 36 minutes.
The pace dropped in the second half with both teams looking nervous and concerned mostly about not losing.
Brazil, who had impressed in a 3-1 win over Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday, made several substitutions in an effort to gain momentum but only twice came close to scoring after the break, both times through Ronaldo.
The result left Germany chasing their first victory over a top team since a 1-0 win over England at Wembley in October 2000.
The three-times world and European champions nevertheless showed signs of improvement and kept alive Klinsmann's hopes they could return to the stadium for the 2006 World Cup final.
More from rediff