New Germany coach Joachim Löw enjoyed a winning start as his side trounced a hapless Sweden 3-0 in a friendly here on Wednesday.
It was the perfect beginning for Löw, who has just taken over from Jürgen Klinsmann after this summer's World Cup, and the team will now be full of confidence for their first Euro 2008 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Stuttgart on September 2.
Löw started with seven of the team that defeated Portugal 3-1 in the World Cup third-place play-off under Klinsmann's regime and watched on as Germany raced into a two-goal lead after just eight minutes.
Bernd Schneider scored only his second international goal in the fourth minute after a clever cutback from Tim Borowksi. World Cup Golden Boot winner Miroslav Klose, who had just been presented with his German Player of the Year award before the game, then stole the limelight by taking advantage of some slack defending to bend in an eighth minute shot.
Sweden were shell-shocked - just like they were when Germany scored twice against them in the first 12 minutes of their round-of-16 World Cup match - and it got worse. Klose grabbed a second with a trademark header in the 44th minute taking his tally to 31 goals in 63 matches.
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