Germany outscored Switzerland in a high scoring friendly during the international break. The 3-4 victory in Basel has put out several learnings for the German manager Julian Nagelsmann with squad changes being a major takeaway. From attack to defense, here are three potential changes that could noticeably improve the German side.
Attack – Havertz out for Woltemade
The German attack was fluid and trigger happy with a total of 22 shots taken. The best part about the attack was also the worst, it was so fluid that it lacked cohesion and a sense
of relative positioning. The goals relied on the quality of 2-3 players to stitch up a sequence rather than being the outcome of any definitive tactics. While this in itself could be a tactic, it is very unlike the German way of football. This should be seen more like a bug rather than a feature.
There were two big visible points of weakness. The first being Kai Havertz. He was sluggish and failed to keep up with the pace of the German play. One-touch passes to connect the attack and provide layoffs were the need of the attack tonight. And, Havertz failed miserably at it, despite possessing the skills for it. He just gave the opponent too much time to react and lost the element of lightening quick pace that his teammates were generating. Woltemade is a better option in this regard and the attack was no longer bogged down once he was subbed in.
The second point of weakness being a lack of any connection between the midfield and attack. Gnabry can be more effective with a better midfield. His attacking midfielder abilities can be unlocked with a midfielder with whom he can pair vertically. Without any connection, the attack and defense looked like two horizontal lines on the pitch with hardly any structure to speak of. This allowed the opposition more space to create chances and to take shots.
Midfield – Goretzka out
Leon made a total mess of a rare starting opportunity. He could neither be a connecting force in midfield or a contributing force in attack. His box-to-box output has dwindled. Against Switzerland, he should have had at least one goal with the chances available to him. Nonetheless, Nags is starved for options in midfield due to injuries to Felix Nmecha and Aleksander Pavlović. But, Goretzka is a liability to the squad and the rebuild of the defense starts from him.
One hot take is to switch him with Kimmich. The midfield gets its connecting force and the right back position would get more physicality. Despite Kimmich’s recent statements expressing his intent to not switch to midfield, currently its an option worth reconsidering. Another option would be to go with either Anton Stach or Pascal Groß.
Angelo Stiller on the other hand did not seem to have a big impact, but the youngster showed a lot of promise. He had a total of 72 passes attempted. This coming from just 79 touches and having an accuracy of 92 percent showed his one touch passing prowess. There were certain instances where he passed aerial balls with a single touch under pressure from the opposition. He took some bold risks and executed his vision. We need to see more of Stiller, especially with a better midfield pairing.
Defense – Schlotterbeck out for Rüdiger
The story continues along similar lines. Lack of clarity was another reason for the three goals conceded. Schlotterbeck, who is the captain of Borussia Dortmund, could not effectively marshal the German defense. The first two goals coming from the first two chances showed how quickly the German defense crumbled.
While Jonathan Tah did not do much better in leading the defense, he made up for it with a decent individual display. His goal, two tackles and 4 clearances made up for his mistake. To be fair to Tah, the goal by Breel Embolo, where he turned into a flying fish, was very difficult to stop. The goal by Joël Monteiro however, should have been stopped by the duo of Tah and Goretzka.
Schlotti, being a superstar on the market, on the other hand was expected to do much better. While he made three tackles, he was never in the picture when the Swiss attack came and has made a case for Antonio Rüdiger to take his spot.
The coach’s corner
The German manager Julian Naglesmann commented very little on the potential changes he would be making for the upcoming game against Ghana. Despite there being shortcomings in the squad, he declined to name factors other than fitness. “We’ll now see how we came out of this game and which players are fit. Then we’ll see exactly which players are ready and who we can field”, said Nageslmann( as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Do you agree with these rotations or would you do things differently ? Lennart Karl is always an option that mixes things up for Bayern and is now also available to do the same for Germany. But is he better as a starter or as a super sub after the opposition tires out ? Do let us know your takes in the comment section. And as always, thank you for reading.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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