Undav scores twice for Germany in Nations League and Hungary holds Dutch to draw

Germany's rebuilding appears to be on the right track.

Denis Undav scored twice and the four-time World Cup winners extended their unbeaten record in the Nations League to three matches after a convincing 2-1 win at Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.

Reduced to 10 men, the Netherlands managed a 1-1 draw in Hungary.

Following the retirements of Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos, Germany started a new cycle and their clean and fluid display against a spirited Bosnia side bodes well for the future.

The Germans top their group after also thrashing Hungary 5-0 and drawing in the Netherlands 2-2.

In the absence of several stalwarts, the Germans played with confidence, developed complex attacking moves and gave the impression of enjoying themselves. They had plenty of chances to score more and had a couple of goals disallowed for offside.

“I knew that Bosnia and Herzegovina are good defensively but you have to keep in mind that we had many chances,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. “That’s why Bosnia and Herzegovina stayed in the game.”

The only downside was the defensive lapse when Hungary's Edin Dzeko pulled one back 20 minutes from time.

The visitors took the lead in the 30th minute at the conclusion of a move that showcased Florian Wirtz's cleverness. The unmarked midfielder collected a lofted pass in the box and, instead of trying his luck, cut an unexpected back pass to Undav, who calmly finished the move.

Undav, who marked his first start for Germany with a goal against the Netherlands, was clinical on Friday.

His Stuttgart clubmate Maximilian Mittelstädt was the provider six minutes later with an excellent cross, and Undav doubled Germany's lead with a clean tap-in from close range.

Bosnia's Ermedin Demirovic, another Stuttgart player, hit the woodwork in the 35th, but Dzeko scored in the 70th with a header from a corner, his 67th goal for the national team.

The Dutch's unbeaten run was almost stopped at Puskas Arena.

The Netherlands won all nine previous meetings with Hungary and enjoyed most of the possession in the first half. But it could not find an edge to get past the staunch Hungarian defense. Roland Sallai put the host in the driver's seat in the 32nd with a close-range finish from Zsolt Nagy’s cross.

The Dutch looked set for a dreadful evening when defender Virgil van Dijk was sent off for a second yellow card but Denzel Dumfries earned a point for the visitors with a header from Cody Gakpo's curled free kick in the 83rd.

"Even with 10 men, we tried to put pressure forward," Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said. “I did have the idea: we’re going to score. If you have a man less, you are relieved that you still (finish) 1-1.”

Germany opened a two-point lead over the Netherlands at the top of the A3 Group. Hungary was third ahead of Bosnia.

Georgia's unbeaten record was ended by Ukraine in Group B1.

Georgia, the surprise of this year's European Championship, won its first two games and remained at the top of the group despite the loss. Mykhailo Mudryk scored the winner for Ukraine, earning the war-torn country its first points in the tournament.

The Czech Republic won against Albania 2-0.

Iceland erased a two-goal deficit to draw with Wales 2-2. Brennan Johnson scored in a seventh consecutive game for club and country as the Tottenham winger put Wales ahead with the opener. Turkey defeated Montenegro 1-0 in the other Group B4 game. In League C, Estonia won against Azerbaijan 3-1 while Sweden drew at Slovakia 2-2.

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Stefan De Vrij of the Netherlands jumps for the ball with Hungary's Bendeguz Bolla, right, during the Nations League soccer match between Hungary and the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Tijjani Reijnders of the Netherlands attempts a shot at goal during the Nations League soccer match between Hungary and the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hungary's Andras Schafer, left, tries to tackle Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands during the Nations League soccer match between Hungary and the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Germany's Pascal Gross passes the ball during the Nations League soccer match between Bosnia and Germany in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnia's Edin Dzeko receives the ball during the Nations League soccer match between Bosnia and Germany in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Hungary goalkeeper Denes Dibusz makes a save during the Nations League soccer match between Hungary and the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hungary's Roland Sallai gestures during the Nations League soccer match between Hungary and the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Bosnia's Armin Gigovic tackles Germany's Maximilian Mittelstadt during the Nations League soccer match between Bosnia and Germany in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Brennan Johnson of Wales celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Nations League group 4 soccer match between Iceland and Wales in Reykjavik, Iceland, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)

A Hungary fan holds up his scarf on the stands during the Nations League soccer match between Hungary and the Netherlands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

German players celebrate after a goal during the Nations League soccer match between Bosnia and Germany in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A lawyer for news organizations urged the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay to unseal the plea deal struck with accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others, saying the public has a constitutional right and compelling need to follow one of the “most-disputed, debated, argued-about prosecutions that have happened in this country."

The plea agreement was reached in August by the three accused, their U.S. government prosecutors and the Guantanamo commission's top official, but it was abruptly revoked by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin days after it became public. It has become one of the most fiercely debated chapters in more than a decade of military hearings related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered long-running U.S. military invasions abroad.

The plea agreement would have spared Mohammed and two co-defendants the risk of the death penalty, in exchange for their guilty pleas in the al-Qaida attacks.

After news of the deal broke, however, top Republican lawmakers denounced it and the White House expressed concerns. Families of the victims variously expressed shock and approval of the plea deal, which was aimed at resolving more than a decade of pre-trial hearings in a legally troubled case for the government.

Austin said in revoking the military commission's approval of the plea bargain that he had decided responsibility for any such grave decision should rest with him as secretary of defense. Mohammed and the two co-defendants have filed challenges, saying Austin's action was illegal and that the actions by the Biden administration, lawmakers and others amounted to undue outside influence in the case.

Seven news organizations — Fox News, NBC, NPR, The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Univision — challenged the sealing of the plea deal.

Friday's hearing highlighted the ad hoc nature of the military commission, which U.S. leaders created to try accused violent extremists in the wake of the 2001 attacks. The lawyers and judge pivoted Friday between civilian and military legal precedents in arguing for and against making terms of the plea agreement public.

The hearing also highlighted the obstacles facing the public, including news organizations, in obtaining information about proceedings against the 9/11 defendants and the few dozen other remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In civilian courts, a plea agreement is traditionally a matter of public record.

Both defense and prosecution lawyers in the case asked the commission judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, to deny the news organizations' request to make the plea deal public.

They argued that allowing the public to know all the terms of the deal that the government struck with defendants Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi could wait. Prosecutors and defense lawyers offered different proposals for how long to wait — until after any rulings on challenges to Austin's overturning of the plea deal, or until after any military sentencing panel is ever seated in the case, or forever.

Prosecutors were concerned about an “oversaturation of information” about the men's willingness to plead guilty tainting any future sentencing panel, lead prosecutor Clay Trivett told McCall.

Defense lawyer Walter Ruiz, representing Hawsawi, said “press gluttony and greed” for profits was driving the news media request to make the terms public. Ruiz criticized news organizations for making the existence of the plea bargain public, and said they were seeking to add to “the very debate they helped to create that impacted this process.”

Lawyer David Schulz, representing the seven news outlets, argued that the Guantanamo court had failed to show any level of threat to the conduct of the 9/11 hearings that warranted hamstringing the public's legal rights to know what courts and the government at large are doing.

“It's just inappropriate to have a knee-jerk reaction and say, ‘Well, we have to keep all this from the press,’ Schulz told McCall. ”Particularly in this context ... of one of the most disputed, debated, argued-about prosecutions that have happened in this country involving ... the most horrendous crime that ever happened on American soil."

“People have a right to know what’s happening here, and they have a right to know now, not two or three years from now, or whatever," Schulz said.

McCall indicated a decision on the motion to unseal could come as soon as November.

FILE - In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower of Camp VI detention facility is seen on April 17, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)