So much for Deniz Undav’s big moment.
Germany will be sticking to its guns and treating tomorrow’s World Cup group stage match against Ecuador as if everything was on the line — even though, thanks to a new FIFA tiebreaks rule at this tournament, nothing is.
Win, lose, or draw, the Germans have clinched Group E after a gritty 2-1 comeback win over Ivory Coast last weekend. But rather than use the opportunity to turn the spotlight on some of the lesser-used players on the roster — including those who
have yet to have a major tournament debut in national team colors — head coach Julian Nagelsmann has decided to remain committed to the process. And that means preparing in a consistent manner throughout the tournament.
“That’s the most legitimate question of all, the discussion about whether or not to make changes,” Nagelsmann explained in match preview comments captured via @iMiaSanMia. “We in the coaching staff also discussed and considered this extensively.
“Looking at the weeks leading up to the World Cup, one of the key topics was that the team needed time to gel and that we hadn’t played enough games together. Now we’ve played two matches, and we’re already debating how many changes to make. I don’t see the point in that. With Kai [Havertz], Jamal [Musiala], and Felix [Nmecha], we had players who were away from the national team for up to a year. We’ve now secured two wins, which is important for the standings.
“But we still have one game left, which we want to win and use to prepare for the knockout stage. I understand every discussion about Deniz [Undav] having earned his place in the starting lineup; that’s certainly true.
“Nevertheless, we have a reasoned approach to our decisions, and we make them with conviction. Therefore, we will make the necessary changes tomorrow, because ‘Nene’ [Nathaniel Brown] is carrying a knock and Schlotti [Nico Schlotterbeck] has unfortunately suffered a serious injury. Otherwise, we will approach the game the same way we have in recent matches.”
That is…definitely a call. If it works, and Germany goes on to major success, it will look brilliant. If a key player picks up an injury or a yellow, the critics will be pouring on. As it stands, it looks like David Raum and Antonio Rüdiger will be the call-ups, per the coach himself — like-for-like changes for the injured players.
What do you think? Is this reason, or madness?
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
