A first-half barrage of goals led Germany to a 3-0 victory over Russia in a friendly on Thursday.

The 2014 world champion, which surrendered its crown with a first-round exit in Russia in June, went 1-0 up thanks to an eighth minute goal from Leroy Sane, his first in internationals.

Niklas Suele added a second goal 17 minutes later before Serge Gnabry, who had set up Sane for the opener, struck his first goal for Germany five minutes before halftime.

The visitors improved after the break, with Aleksei Ionov going close as the intensity of the game dropped.

The 32-year-old Brazilian-born Ariclenes da Silva Ferreira, known as Ari, made his Russia debut but failed to make much of an impact and was substituted early in the second half.

Germany, which lost 2-1 in France and 3-0 in the Netherlands in its previous UEFA Nations League games, continues its campaign against the Dutch in Gelsenkirchen on Monday.

The Germans are bottom of League A, Group 1 with one point from three games and will be relegated on Friday if the Dutch beat world champion France in Rotterdam.