MOSCOW. Sept 8: Germany beat Russia 1-0 on Wednesday tn a friendly International, as they took the first positive steps towards putting their disappointing World Cup per formance behind them, re ports Reuter.

And the winning goal came from a player who saw only four minutes of action in the United States. 31-year-old Stefan Kuntz.

But the Germans lacked creativity in midfield, with nei ther Mario Basler in the first half nor Andy Moeller in the second providing the drive that coach Berti Vogts was desperately seeking.

Kaiserslautern striker Kuntz, who made Just a brief substitute's appearances at the World Cup where the defending champions were knocked out by Bulgaria in the quarterfinals. rocked the Russians with 12 minute goal.