Fast-paced six-goal thriller against Udinese

Despite tired legs and trailing 3-1 at half-time, Mainz fought back against Udinese Calcio on Saturday afternoon to avoid their first defeat of the summer. Head coach Urs Fischer’s side showed great character, especially in the second half, and levelled the game after the break following a clear improvement in performance. Overall, the 3-3 draw against the Italian top-flight side was a fair result. In a match that was unusually wild for a friendly, Mainz’s attacking duo in particular stood out: Sheraldo Becker scored twice, while strike partner Ransford Königsdörffer impressed with one goal and two assists.

Fischer was satisfied after the game and also praised the Italian opponents: “Our pressing in the first half hour still had room for improvement, but after that we got better and better. Our midfield has only been training with the team since this week, and to face an opponent of this quality straight away in the first game is obviously a demanding task. But as the game went on, we found our way into it more and more and ultimately produced a good performance.”

Stormy start

New signing Alexander Schwolow made his debut in the Mainz shirt, while the World Cup players also made their first appearances as part of the 2026 summer pre-season. In the newly formed midfield, Kaishu Sano, Jae-sung Lee and Nadiem Amiri started, with Amiri also taking on the captain’s role for this match. The game at the Stadion Mittersill began with a minute’s silence for Franco Baresi, who passed away on Friday. After this emotional moment of calm, the storm followed on the pitch, and also in terms of the weather: the match immediately picked up pace, as both teams pressed the opposition extremely high. This intense pressing repeatedly led to turnovers high up in the opponent’s half. As a result, the first goal was not long in coming: Mainz took the lead through Becker as early as the fourth minute. After a nice quick counter-attack, he was wonderfully set up by strike partner Königsdörffer and finished expertly into the bottom-left corner. This early setback woke the Italians up, and they became increasingly dominant afterwards: Udinese striker Keinan Davis missed the equaliser when free in front of Schwolow in the ninth minute, before the Mainz goalkeeper made two brilliant saves in the 11th and 15th minutes. In the 16th minute, the Italians’ number nine did better and converted a rebound to equalise. The Bianconeri remained on the front foot after that: first, Nicolo Zaniolo scored after a high turnover to make it 2-1 in the 22nd minute, before Davis added a spectacular backheel to make it 3-1 15 minutes later. Dominik Kohr almost pulled one back shortly before half-time, but his effort bounced back into play off the crossbar.

FSV come back quickly, both teams miss winner

Urs Fischer reacted at half-time and brought on Lennard Maloney, William Böving and Hyunseok Hong for the three returnees Sano, Amiri and Lee. Maximilian Kinzig also replaced debutant Schwolow in the Mainz goal. The tempo of the game, however, remained unchanged, and once again it was the Rheinhessen who made the better start. In the 51st minute, Becker reduced the deficit to 3-2, once again excellently set up by Königsdörffer. This time, FSV stayed on the front foot and pushed for the equaliser. It came nine minutes after the goal that brought them back into the game: Königsdörffer rewarded himself for his strong performance and finished powerfully into the right corner from the edge of the penalty area (60’). The equaliser completely disrupted the rhythm of the fast-paced match, as challenges and fouls dominated proceedings on the pitch from then on. That benefited both defensive lines, who now allowed far less. Nevertheless, Kinzig was still able to distinguish himself twice and kept his team in the game with strong saves (63’, 75’). In the closing minutes, Becker pushed for his hat-trick, but his shots were blocked by the Italian wall (82’, 88’).

The two-goal scorer said after the match: “They were two different halves, but I think after all the hard work at training camp, we can be proud of the 90 minutes. Of course, the goals we conceded before the break were frustrating, but we did better in the second half. The automatisms worked again, and maybe there was even a win in it for us. The legs are gone now, everyone has 90 minutes in their legs, and that is exactly what pre-season should look like. For me as a striker, the goals are of course a good feeling.”

After the second and final friendly of the training camp, the Mainz players can look forward to a day off on Sunday before the final push begins on Monday. They are expected back at the Bruchweg over the course of Wednesday afternoon. Next Saturday, Paris FC will then visit the Bruchweg for the next friendly fixture.

1. FSV Mainz 05 - Udinese Calcio 3:3 (1:3)

Mainz 05: Schwolow (46' Kinzig) - Caci, Kohr, Bell, Potulski, Nakuzola (81' Kawasaki) - Sano (46' Maloney), Amiri (46' Boving), Lee (46' Hong) - Königsdörffer, Becker

Goals: 1-0 Becker (4th min.), 1-1 Keinan Davis (16th min.), 1-2 Nicolo Zaniolo (22nd min.), 1-3 Keinan Davis (37th min.), 2-3 Becker (51st min.), Königsdörffer (60th min.)

Spectators:  approx. 500  
Referee: Florian Jäger (Amar Rekik, Özgün Ustaoglu)